A Manchester United legend has decided to hand his season ticket back to the club after their Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, it has been announced.
Ruben Amorim’s side lost 1-0 in Bilbao in what could be described, at best, as an extremely below-par display.
The result means United will not be playing European football next season for the first time since 2014.
It is likely to have a significant impact on their summer transfer business, with The Guardian reporting that Amorim will have less than £100 million to spend as a result of United missing out on Europe.
Amorim has stated that he will not quit the club, but added: “If the board and the fans feel I’m not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any compensation.”
But one former Manchester United star will not be at Old Trafford – at least regularly – to witness whether Amorim can turn things around next season.
Ex-United forward Norman Whiteside became the club’s youngest player in 29 years when he made his first senior appearance at the age of 16 in 1982.
By 1986, he had already played at two World Cups for Northern Ireland, won two FA Cups with United and scored the winning goal in the 1985 final against Everton.
Four years after Trevor Francis became football’s first £1 million player in 1979, United accepted an offer of £1.5 million from AC Milan for Whiteside, but he turned the move down.
After scoring 68 goals for the club, he would subsequently leave United in 1987 after falling down the pecking order under Alex Ferguson, before then being forced to retire at the age of 26 having suffered persistent knee problems for most of his career.
After retirement, Whiteside stayed involved at United, and the now 60-year-old and wife Dee have held season tickets at Old Trafford for 28 years.
But Dee has taken to Twitter to confirm that the pair will not be renewing their season tickets for the upcoming 2025/26 season.
She wrote: “I’ve waited for a while to write this. It is with unbelievable sadness that, after more than 28 years of having season tickets at Old Trafford, Norman Whiteside and I are not renewing next year.
“Having been forcibly relocated last season, ‘red carded’ for not attending enough games, unable to give my ‘paid for’ seat to my children … enough is enough.
“And to cap it all, we’ve seen it all, we’ve won the lot, we’re Man United and we’re never gonna stop… except for so many seasons now, my match going loyalty to the club has ended so sadly.
“I’ll still be at games, I’m MUFC until I die, and I’ve seen worse times than now, but I’m not sure I’ve seen players less interested in pulling on our shirt for very many years. Times must change.”
Last March, a block of platinum season ticket holders at Old Trafford were told that their seats would be reallocated following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival as minority co-owner.
Former United winger and season ticket holder Gordon Hill was among those to criticise the decision.
Image: Twitter/@gordonhill54
In response, United stated: “We understand the disappointment felt by Gordon and other season ticket holders affected by seat relocations.
“There are various reasons why this happens, including, next season, the moving of matchday hospitality seats into consolidated blocks to address fan concerns about them being dispersed around the stadium.”
Season ticket prices will increase by around five per cent for most age groups next season, in another move that has been criticised by supporters.
Meanwhile, season ticket holders must attend a minimum of 16 out of United’s 39 Premier League games, a figure that is up from 15 this season.
United’s regulations state that supporters must attend the minimum number of home matches to be eligible for renewing their ticket for the following season.
