Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes offered to pay for benefits for club staff after learning they’d have perks taken away for the Red Devils’ FA Cup final win over Manchester City back in the summer, reports say.
The fallen giants stunned their rivals 2-1 at Wembley, with goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo giving them the trophy.
Usually, United offer free travel and accomodation for staff when it comes to matches of such magnitude.
But with Sir Jim Ratcliffe cutting costs, amid a desire to raise standards, that wasn’t available this time around.
Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes offered to pay for benefits for club staff after learning they’d have perks taken away for the Red Devils’ FA Cup final win over Manchester City back in the summer
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According to The Athletic, Fernandes was ‘so taken aback’ by the decision that the United star offered to pay for the usual extras out of his own pocket.
However, the Portugal international’s request was denied.
This was because the United hierarchy felt it would be a ‘bad look’ for themselves, with Fernandes going on to lift the trophy.
Morale at United is believed to be low at the current moment in time after a nightmare 2024.
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Though the club won the FA Cup by beating City, things have gone from bad to worse in the time since that triumph.
United are currently 13th in the Premier League table, with former boss Erik ten Hag losing his job last month following a dire start to the season.
They have already exited the Carabao Cup, too, having lost 4-3 to Tottenham in last week’s exciting quarter-final clash.
Marcus Rashford’s attitude has alarmed club staff, with Ruben Amorim leading the winger out of his last three matchday squads.
United are continuing to streamline their organisation, with redundancies already made adding to the doom and gloom mood.
And they look as far away as ever as challenging the big teams for the major trophies on offer, particularly after Sunday’s abysmal 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
Speaking after that result, Amorim fronted up.
The 39-year-old said he sensed ‘nervousness’ inside the ground and that the atmosphere impacted his team as they failed to climb up the table.
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Man Utd chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has cut costs at Old Trafford since arriving last year
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“This game was hard on us. We suffered again on set pieces and we were a little bit nervous – also the stadium at the beginning of the game, I felt it … It’s a lot of mental [nervousness]: you can feel it not just with the players, the fans too,” he said.
“I felt it from the first minute, there’s a lot of anxiety; that’s normal because of the context [needing to win] and it’s really disappointing.
“It’s a tough moment but we have to face it and prepare for the next game.”
The Portuguese added: “It is my responsibility to coach them, not [assistant coach] Carlos [Fernandes] – it is all on me.
Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes lifts the FA Cup trophy following his side’s 2-1 final win over Man City earlier in the year
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“Of course we want to improve. In this moment, everything is so much harder – a club like Manchester United to lose 3-0 at home, it’s really tough for everybody. And of course the fans are really disappointed and tired.
“You can feel it in the stadium and I understand that, but we have to face it.
“We know what to do. We have to improve set pieces. I think we are not giving the ball away as much as we did.
“We control the game better, we don’t concede a lot of spaces, transitions, we control very well against one team who score 60 per cent of their goals when the ball is in [the opponents’] half.”
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