Manchester United staff threatened with sacking for leaked information... in a leaked email

Manchester United's minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is hoping to satisfy UEFA rulings.
Manchester United's minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe (Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester United have endured a tough year since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took charge of the club.

An FA Cup win papered over many cracks on the pitch, and allowed Erik ten Hag to stay in position until he was sacked and replaced by Ruben Amorim.

The Red Devils have seen little improvement since then, currently sit 15th in the Premier League and seem to be embroiled in a off the pitch issue every other week.

Manchester United staff threatened with sacking over leaked information in an email that was leaked

Ruben Amorim has plenty of transfer decisions to make this summer

Amorim has endured a tough start to life in Manchester (Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester United fans have voiced frustration over match tickets costing £66, with banners appearing at recent games in protest.

Ratcliffe has also already made over 250 redundancies to staff, with reports he is planning more not denied by the club.

Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo

Kobbie Mainoo has been a rare ray of light in the last 18-months for Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)

A report from The Telegraph now states that staff have been threatened with sacking if they leak information, with sensitive information as well as team news often finding it's way into the public's hands.

The irony of this is it has come from a leaked email that was sent to staff suggesting that revealing club information to outside sources will be viewed as 'gross misconduct', something that could get people sacked.

Staff were also reportedly informed additional measures are being created to stop information leaking out before any announcements are due.

As per The Telegraph the email from Omar Berrada, Manchester United's chief executive officer, said: "Anyone disclosing information outside of the club is breaching their obligations of confidentiality, and we are very clear that this will be considered gross misconduct.

Manchester United owner Jim Ratcliffe, chairman and founder of Ineos Group Holdings Plc, during a Bloomberg Television interview at The Grenadier pub in London, UK, on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Ratcliffe's Ineos Automotive offered a first look Friday at the Fusilier, a sport utility vehicle smaller than the Grenadier 4x4 that the closely held company started selling early last year.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has some big decisions to make to help restore Man United's former glories (Image credit: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"To protect the club and its colleagues, additional measures are being put in place to prevent future breaches of confidentiality and also identify any persons responsible."

In FourFourTwo's opinion, it's another PR nightmare in what has been a tough few months for Manchester United.

Amorim's side take on Everton this weekend, with a win for the Toffees meaning that David Moyes would have picked up more points in his first six Premier League games than Amorim has in 15 in charge of Manchester United.

Ewan Gennery
Freelance writer

Ewan is a freelance writer and social media manager who has worked for The Athletic, GOAL, 90min and OneFootball. From Gelsenkirchen to Riyadh, he has covered some of the biggest games in football in his three years in the industry.