Man United Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe DEFENDS Man United Hiking Ticket Prices At Old Trafford.

• Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has for the first time explained why the decision has been made to increase matchday ticket prices to £66 per game at Old Trafford regardless of the age of the person purchasing them.

• The hike on tickets is the latest measure in Ratcliffe and Ineos's ongoing drive to cut costs and increase revenues at the club.

• Prices had started at £40 for adults and £25 for children but tickets will now be charged at the highest category regardless of where they are located in Old Trafford

Man United were accused of exploiting fans after taking the mid-season decision to raise matchday ticket prices to £66 per game, with no concessions for children or pensioners.

This led to a protest by supporters which was held before Sunday's 4-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford.

The furious fans, claimed they are being asked to pay for the mistakes of majority owners the Glazer family, urging the club to stop exploiting the loyalty of their fans. 

In response to the criticism, United said in a statement: "As a club, we have been focused on cost saving to put us on a stronger financial footing.

"This means having to make very hard decisions, including a significant reduction in our staff numbers.

"It also means looking for opportunities to increase our revenues so we can continue to invest in football and infrastructure.

"We have now sold over 97 per cent of tickets this season, many of which were at a discounted rate. We are implementing some policy changes for matches that have already sold out, where only small numbers of tickets will be released."

In their first-quarter financial results released last week, Man United posted net losses of £113.2m for the 12 months ending 30 June 2024.

The to club revealed they had spent £8.6m as part of a redundancy programme that has led to about 250 employees losing their jobs.

Sir Alex Ferguson will also leave his role as Manchester United ambassador at the end of the season, having been paid a multi-million-pound sum by the club since his retirement as manager in 2013.

The ticket pricing announcement came after the club confirmed the cost of paying off former boss Erik ten Hag and his staff was £10.4m, while the cost of paying a release clause to bring in his replacement Ruben Amorim was £11m.

The club has said the increase will only affect a small number of fans, as 97 per cent of tickets have already been sold but the remainder and resold tickets will be subject to the increase. And officials are adamant that nothing has yet been decided for next season.

For the first time, Ratcliffe has addressed the recent increase in matchday ticket prices, declaring that he does not believe Fulham fans should be paying more to watch their team than what United supporters will have to pay to watch a game at Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe’s shock remarks come less than a week after hundreds of United fans angrily protested against him and the Glazers outside Old Trafford.

“I don't think it makes sense for a Manchester United ticket to cost less than a ticket to see Fulham,’ Ratcliffe told the United We Stand fanzine.

“I don’t want to end up in a position where the genuine local fans can't afford to come, but I do want to optimise the ticketing,’ he said.

“We need to find a balance. And you can't be popular all the time either.

“Here, we're talking about three per cent of the tickets. That's not the issue. The issue, as you say, is whether this is the thin edge of the wedge [for more raises in future].

“I know we get criticism in the press but we do need to challenge the cost of running this club because what I want to be free for us to do is buy really good footballers, not spend so much of the money on infrastructure.”