Manchester United’s decision to dismiss Ruben Amorim on Monday will see the Portuguese manager depart with a £10million severance package, pushing the club’s total compensation expenditure to nearly £100m since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013.
The Old Trafford outfit has now accumulated £78m in payouts to departing managers and their coaching teams over the past twelve years.
Amorim’s exit comes with 18 months still left on his contract, bringing an abrupt end to his brief spell in charge.
The staggering figure underscores the financial turbulence that has characterised United’s managerial appointments since Ferguson concluded his legendary 27-year tenure at the club.
The total financial burden of Amorim’s tenure amounts to approximately £28.5m when all costs are factored together.
United paid Sporting £11m in November 2024 to secure his services, making it the most expensive managerial hiring fee in the club’s post-Ferguson era.
The Portuguese coach was earning roughly £6.5m per year during his time at Old Trafford, adding significantly to the overall expense.
Manchester United’s decision to dismiss Ruben Amorim on Monday will see the Portuguese manager depart with a £10million severance package, pushing the club’s total compensation expenditure to nearly £100m since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013
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Combined with his £10m departure payment, the brief Amorim experiment represents a substantial outlay for a manager who failed to turn around the club’s fortunes.
His dismissal continues a costly pattern of short-lived appointments that have drained United’s finances since Ferguson’s departure.
United’s managerial merry-go-round began with David Moyes, whose departure after just 10 months in 2014 cost the club £4.9m.
United opted to hire David Moyes as Sir Alex Ferguson’s replacement following his retirement in 2013, only for the Scot to last 10 months
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Louis van Gaal followed two years later, receiving an £8.4m payout when his services were terminated.
Jose Mourinho’s dismissal in 2018 proved the most expensive single departure, with the club paying out £19.6m to the Portuguese tactician.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s exit then set United back £10m.
Ralf Rangnick arrived on a six-month interim basis with plans to transition into a consultancy role, but when that arrangement fell through at the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign, it cost £14.7m.
Erik ten Hag’s departure proved particularly wasteful, with United triggering a contract extension only to dismiss him 116 days later, costing £10.4m.
Beyond managerial payoffs, United have spent almost £21m on hiring managers and dealing with executive appointments.
Ruben Amorim was sacked by United on Monday and received a huge pay-off | REUTERS
The Dan Ashworth saga proved particularly costly, with the club paying Newcastle approximately £3m to secure the sporting director, only to dismiss him five months into his role at a further cost of £4.1m.
When Solskjaer initially joined from Molde in December 2018, the Norwegian club received a goodwill payment of around £1m.
Ajax were compensated £1.6m for losing Ten Hag and his assistant Mitchell van der Gaag.
Southampton also received roughly £1m when United appointed Jason Wilcox, who initially served as technical director and now holds the position of director of football.
