Man City refuse to take Man Utd players along on private flight to Ballon d’Or ceremony

Alejandro Garnacho (L) and Kobbie Mainoo were nominated for the Kopa Tropy at the Ballon d'Or. Photo by AP.

According to Daily Mail, the reigning Premier League champions City chartered a private plane to take their crew members, including eight nominees to the Ballon d’Or ceremony at the Chatelet Opera House in Paris, France on Monday night.

United then asked City if they had any room for Garnacho and Mainoo, who were nominated in the youth category. However, City informed that there was no more room on the flight.

The move was made following a series of cost-saving measures of United after billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group took over the club this year, as sending two players on a private jet to Paris is considered to be inefficient.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the wealthiest billionaire in England, acquired a 27.7% stake in Man United in early 2024 and initiated extensive behind-the-scenes restructuring. This move led to the reduction of 250 staff members, including the departure of club legend and global ambassador Sir Alex Ferguson, The Sun reported.

Previously, Man United provided FA Cup final tickets to 1,100 employees, covering food, hotel accommodations and travel expenses to Wembley. However, in the most recent FA Cup final against Man City, employees had to pay $26 for travel and all additional benefits were canceled, aside from a free ticket to the match.

Garnacho and Mainoo were nominated for the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best U21 player in the last season. Meanwhile, the club didn’t have any players nominated for the prestigious Ballon d'Or, unlike Man City, who saw four of their stars Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and Rodri among the nominees.

In the women’s category, Man City players Yui Hasegawa, Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or. Additionally, Brazilian midfielder Savinho, who is with Man City but spent last season on loan at Girona, has also been nominated for the Kopa Trophy.

For the best coach award, City's Pep Guardiola was nominated alongside Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen), Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid), Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Luis de la Fuente (Spain) and Lionel Scaloni (Argentina).