The good news for all those members of lower-paid staff who lost their jobs during Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s vast cost-cutting exercise is that it was not all in vain.

It was reported as necessary in February to avoid Manchester United going bust, but between that and a feel down the back of the sofa the club have found £200m for transfer fees.

United have also done so without selling anyone for actual money, a remarkable situation given the “sell-to-buy” leaks of the spring. Turns out that there is a magic money tree after all. It just doesn’t allow for daft things like matchday ticket prices not to go up exorbitantly.

At its most basic logical level, United’s rebuild of their forward line works. Ruben Amorim’s team scored 44 league goals in 2024-25, their worst record in Premier League hist

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