Ratcliffe Sacks Sir Alex Ferguson As Man United Global Ambassador, As Part Of INEOS Cutting Cost At The Club.

 Manchester United's most successful manager Alex Ferguson will step down as a global ambassador after the club's part-owners INEOS ended his multi-million pound contract.

It comes after United finalised the excesses of 250 members of staff in a bid to save around £45 million ($58.8m).

Ferguson, a familiar sight in the Old Trafford director's box for years, since his retirement as manager of the Red Devils after more than 25-years in charge, he signed an agreement with United in 2013 to be a club ambassador, receiving 2.16 million pounds ($2.82m) a year.

The 82-year-old set to turn 83 in December, won 13 English top-flight league titles during his time as manager between 1986 and 2013. He also won the Champions League in 1999 and 2008 along with another nine domestic cup successes. He remains the last United manager to lead the club to the Premier League title in 2013.

His exit is understood to have been agreed amicably after a face-to-face meeting with Ratcliffe, according to a team source, it was one of a number of time-consuming responsibilities from which Ferguson would be stepping back from, and that he will always be welcomed at Old Trafford.

Ferguson has reportedly raked in around £25m since retiring as manager in May 2013, but he will still continue to watch United matches from the posh seats and remains on the board as a non-executive director.

Ratcliffe has frequently been pictured sitting alongside Ferguson in the stands and it is understood that their relationship remains intact. Ferguson may well have been expecting such a move, given the fact that Ratcliffe has made himself unpopular among staff by making 250 people redundant, cancelling the Christmas party and reducing ticket allocations and benefits for the FA Cup.

Since taking charge of football operations when Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake in the Premier League club, there have been job cuts virtually across the board at United as part of cost-saving measures at the club which has been incurring losses for some time.