It has been reported that United will NOT be paying for the tickets for the staff to attend the Europa League final against Spurs next Wednesday in Bilbao and would instead have to pay for their own ticket.
On top of this, the players are only allowed two tickets each with family and friends NOT having their travel and accommodation covered.
This is where Amorim comes in.
ESPN say that the United boss "has paid for 30 of his backroom staff to take their families to next week's Europa League final in Bilbao, Spain, after being told by the club that his coaches, physios and support team would have to pay for their own tickets."
Staff members will also have to pay for the two tickets allotted to them by the club for the final.
Mark Ogden then added that when Amorim was made aware of this, he told the board that he would fund the costs required for every member of staff to take two family members or friends to Spain.
News from The Times on Monday said that United will also host a barbecue in celebration of a potential Europa League triumph. This was met with much division from the fan base but it's clear that whether they celebrate winning the EL or not, it is embarrassing all the same to see where the club is at.
Paul Hirst of The Times, who also co-wrote the article of the celebratory barbecue, said last night that "Man United have decided against hosting the end-of-season awards dinner due to the disappointing performance from the first team this season." He added that hosting a luxurious event is something that "wouldn't go down well with staff and supporters" and that scheduling played a part in this decision as well as United will travel to Asia straight after the final game of the season against Aston Villa on 25 May. The first of two games takes place in Malaysia just three days after that clash with Villa [The United Stand].
Final Thoughts
Incredible, but at this point, isn't completely unsurprising.
I feel like with the way things have been going under INEOS this sort of thing isn't something we should shocked by.
But to have your manager who is an employee of yours pay for other employees to have tickets to watch the final isn't a good look for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. Amorim was already in the good books of majority of the fan base but this will win him more favor (not that he's doing it for that) but also turn the supporters a little more against the co-owners, at least that's what I think will happen.
This isn't a good look on INEOS as well because other clubs are paying for hundreds of staff to come to finals. We know that Spurs are doing this but as per this ESPN article, PSG are paying for 600 staff members to attend the Champions League final against Inter in Munich.
We know that the club are struggling financially but this has to be a whole new low. To have your manager pay for staff to attend the final is hard to believe. If I'm correct in saying, captain Bruno Fernandes did something similar for the FA Cup final last season when The Athletic reported that the MUFC staff won't be receiving their usual benefits.
Two seasons in a row of this.
Things like this weren't even done under the Glazers alone. Imagine being somewhat disliked as much if not a little more than the Glazers, at least at this moment. That is quite the achievement.
Amorim has stated on several occasions that the club has it's financial issues with one of those occasions as recently as the press conference ahead of the second leg against Athletic Club last Thursday. He was asked about the tour to Asia after the Villa game to which the United manager said that it's a good thing for the club to connect with fans around the world but also for financial reasons: "we need to help the club because the club wins some money."
The no awards dinner is the same that happened (or didn't) at the end of the 21/22 season which was perhaps the most toxic United we've ever seen but this season is the worst. It makes sense that these two campaigns would result in this lack of an awards dinner.
But this is another sign of how terrible things have been this season. The awards dinner at the end of a campaign is one of the things we look forward to in order to see who won what.
To be honest though, these players don't deserve any award. Hell they don't even deserve the Europa League but we fans bloody well do. There should be a fan award for sticking through all of this shit and still backing the team through thick and thin.
At this point, I wonder what Amorim must be thinking about the way the club is run with these cost-cutting measures, him paying for staff for the final and celebratory barbecus. We really are cooked.
Class act by the manager though. But what else should we expect from him?
Ruben Amorim tells Man Utd board he will pay for 30 members of staff for Europa League final | Ruben Amorim: Creator: Richard Pelham | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Getty Images via Man Utd News