Three senior executives to leave Man Utd this summer

Three senior executives will leave Manchester United this summer, including the person responsible for delivering the latest round of redundancies.

People and transformation director Annie Hale will leave United once the second redundancy programme in as many years, which could see up to 200 people lose their jobs, has been concluded.

Chief commercial development officer James Holroyd, who has been at United for more than 14 years, and London-based director of partnerships Florence Lafaye, who is due to complete 13 years at the club in June, will also leave.

Club sources stress the trio are all leaving of their own accord, are not being forced out and are not part of the redundancy programme.

Hale, who joined United as human resources director in September 2019, has effectively worked with four chief executives - Ed Woodward, Richard Arnold, Patrick Stewart and Omar Berrada - and through a period of huge turbulence around the Glazer family's strategic review, which culminated in Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos group taking a near 30% stake in the club last year.

She also dealt with the first round of 250 redundancies.

Holroyd and Lafaye have been viewed as key figures in United's expanding commercial arm, which has been widely praised.

Holroyd previously worked at Adidas and was central to the management of United's most lucrative commercial deal, the 10-year shirt sponsorship extension worth £900m that was announced in July 2023.

Lafaye has helped generate new partnerships for United and, like Holroyd, was regarded as hugely influential in the club's growth, with commercial revenues rising from £153m in 2013 to £302.9m, as announced in the latest annual figures to June 2024.

However, the installation of former Paris St-Germain executive Marc Armstrong as United's new chief business officer last month inevitably meant a dilution of their responsibilities, so both have decided to move on.

While Ratcliffe regards the changes as part of the drive to make United a more streamlined, effective and, crucially, profitable organisation, others will see it as evidence of more change and a club that is losing many of the elements that previously made it successful.

It is anticipated the trio will be replaced, although no decision has been taken on that yet.

The news comes at a time when United, who announced annual losses of £113.2m in September, are facing the potential loss of a significant tranche of broadcasting and matchday income next season given winning the Europa League is now their only realistic chance of securing European football.

Only once, under David Moyes, have United not qualified for Europe since English clubs returned after their Uefa ban in 1990.

Failure to qualify for the Champions League will mean a loss of £10m in its Adidas deal, although that would be spread over the remainder of the contract.

United are still to announce season ticket prices for 2025-26, but the club has already received strong criticism for its decision to raise tickets not already sold to £66, with no concessions, for the remainder of the season.

The '1958' protest group has called on supporters to voice their opposition by wearing black and joining a protest march before Sunday's Premier League game with Arsenal at Old Trafford.