Manchester United reveal how much it cost to sack Erik ten Hag and hire Ruben Amorim
Manchester United made the decision early in the season to sack Erik ten Hag and bring in Ruben Amorim as his replacement - but that came at a serious cost for the Old Trafford bosses
by Samuel Meade · The MirrorManchester United had to part with £21million to get rid of Erik ten Hag and hire Ruben Amorim.
Their managerial change, just weeks into the season, quickly felt inevitable as results failed to improve, but it was a costly decision. Especially as Ten Hag had only been given a new deal in the summer and Amorim found himself in a job at Sporting Lisbon.
United wasted no time though with Ten Hag axed less than 24 hours after a loss at West Ham. The same day, the Old Trafford hierarchy were making moves to bring Amorim to Old Trafford and negotiations began over how much compensation it would take.
To oust Ten Hag the Red Devils had to pay the Dutchman £11.4m. That is the second biggest fee handed to a manager to get him to leave with Jose Mourinho's £19.6m by far the highest.
Sporting then played hardball over Amorim, whom they wanted to retain. United also wanted to accelerate his notice period and bring some of his staff with him to the Premier League. All that set them back just over £20m as they were made to reflect on the decision to retain Ten Hag back in the summer.
United's finance sheet paints a worrying picture when it comes to their decision making. They've continued to rinse through managers. In the 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson left they've had six permanent managers occupy the dugout.
David Moyes was axed at a cost of £4.9m. Louis van Gaal was given his marching orders two years later after winning the FA Cup, that cost £8.4m. Mourinho's mammoth fee is well documented. Just over £23m was spent to get rid of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ed Woodward.
The figures, especially following this season's decision, have shone a light on the decisions taken by INEOS. It seems as if they now want the fans to make up for some of their poor calls, which have cost them financially. United confirmed the rise of ticket prices for members to £66 per game and have removed concession prices for children and over-65s for the remainder of the season. Tickets for kids were previously priced at £25.
The new hierarchy, assembled by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, involve a number of competent individuals who have performed impressively at other clubs.
Ten Hag's side performed poorly last term and oversaw United's worst-ever finish in the Premier League era. An FA Cup success saved him from the sack despite Ratcliffe and co still conducting a post-season review, which saw them retain Ten Hag and back him in the transfer market, only to sack him after nine league games.
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