Manchester United continue to spend millions sacking managers, but are no closer to getting things right.
Erik ten Hag was the most recent casualty, losing his job in October after notching up some dreading unwanted records.
Now it has been revealed in Man United’s Q2 fiscal results that it cost them £14.5million to sack Ten Hag.
What makes the figure even more baffling, and frustrating for Red Devils fans, is that he was handed a new contract in the summer after winning the FA Cup.
Despite actively shopping around for a new manager at the end of last season, they stuck with the Dutchman and it proved to be a costly mistake.
They invested another £200m in players, taking his total spend at Old Trafford to north of £600m, only to seem them languish in the bottom half of the table.
One win in eight forced the United hierarchy, and more specifically minority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos, to act.
They were forced to pay him millions to correct their blunder – with Ruben Amorim’s hiring from Sporting costing around £10.6m.
That is not the only mistake that has ended up costing the Red Devils millions.
It was also revealed that Dan Ashworth’s exit as sporting director cost £4.1m, after they had paid Newcastle £3m in compensation, despite him only being in post for five months.
The wasted millions is likely to provoke anger among Man United fans and staff alike.
Ratcliffe has overseen several rounds of brutal redundancies with an initial 250 staff laid off in the summer and autumn, with another 200 set to go in another series of cuts.
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The minority owner is said to feel he has little choice but to take drastic action, after the club lost £300m over the past three years.
Among the cuts include replacing a £100 Christmas bonus for administrative staff for a £40m M&S voucher.
The money paid to Ten Hag, and Ashworth, highlight how wrong United have got it both on and off the pitch since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
His 26-and-a-half year tenure ended in 2013, winning the Premier League in his final season.
Since then, the Red Devils have failed to win the league and often found themselves out of the top four.
This season has been particularly disheartening with a defeat to Tottenham on Sunday sending them down to 15th place.
| Manager | Tenure | Sacking Cost |
| David Moyes | 2013-14 | £7m |
| Louis van Gaal | 2014-16 | £8.4m |
| Jose Mourinho | 2016-18 | £15m |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | 2018-21 | £7.5m |
| Erik ten Hag | 2022-24 | £14.5m |
| Total cost | 2013-24 | £52.4m |
In total, United have spent £52.4m on sacking managers since Ferguson retired.
They have just five trophies to show for it in the following 12 years – two FA Cups, two League Cups, and the Europa League.
Ferguson’s successor David Moyes did not even last a season, and cost £7m in compensation.
Louis van Gaal was his replacement and won the FA Cup, but he was gone by 2016 at a cost of £8.4m.
In his place came Jose Mourinho, who helped himself to the League Cup and Europa League.
He famously said one of his best achievement was finishing second with United.
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To sack ‘The Special One’ was an eye-watering £15m.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the longest reigning of Ferguson’s successors, from 2018 to 2021, but was let for at a cost of £7.5m.
Ten Hag himself won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, but another £14.5m had to be spent to show him the door.
With the millions spent to get rid of managers and their support staff, the club have very little to show for it.
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