The truth around Man Utd's £175,000 'body language expert' that left Sir Jim Ratcliffe gobsmacked as blame is laid at Erik ten Hag's door - revealed

The Red Devils have made plenty of unfortunate headlines during the 2024-25 campaign. A testing season has delivered a 15th-place finish in the Premier League and a Europa League final defeat - with no European action on the agenda for next term.

Another change in the dugout was made when replacing FA Cup and League Cup winner Ten Hag with Portuguese tactician Ruben Amorim. The ex-Sporting CP boss picked up just 16 victories from 42 games, giving him a win ratio of 38 per cent.

There is clearly still much work to be done at Old Trafford, with controversial cost-cutting measures already being put in place by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS co-ownership group as United seek to balance the books.

One of those to have been moved on is a supposed 'body language expert', with Ratcliffe left baffled by certain roles that had been created behind the scenes. According to The Athletic, that person was "hired by Ten Hag to primarily help players recognise relevant facial expressions during penalty shootouts".

It was claimed that the £175,000 being paid out there would be recouped with interest if United found a way of keeping themselves in domestic and continental cup competitions. The appointment was, however, deemed a "luxury" and subsequently removed from the pay roll.

Ratcliffe is said to be "getting more involved than expected at United", with his personal wealth taking a notable hit since acquiring a stake from the Glazer family at Old Trafford. He is now keeping a close eye on transfer business and plans for a new £2 billion ($2.7bn) stadium in Manchester.