Man Utd reveal massive compensation deals paid out for Ten Hag and Ashworth sackings

Manchester United's financial statement disclosed a payout of £10.4 million to terminate Erik ten Hag and his staff from their contracts.

This followed a series of disappointing results which culminated in the mid-season removal of Ten Hag.

The club also had to shell out over £4m as compensation for the departure of Sporting Director, Dan Ashworth.

Cumulatively, the dismissal of failed appointments cost United around £15m. Co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, made the decisions following Ashworth's tenure lasting less than six months and Ten Hag's dismal performance.

Interestingly, Ten Hag had received a contract extension a few months prior to his firing.

After managing to survive an end-of-season review that put his job at risk, Ten Hag was granted an extended contract along with a £200m fund allocation. However, his sacking underlined the swift shift in the club's faith.

The dismissal payouts add to United's financial challenges, given that the club's total revenue declined by 12% due to their absence from the Champions League. This resulted in an overall loss of £27.7m for the period.

The club reported securing £198.7m in revenue for the final three months of 2024, down from £225.8m in the same period of the previous year.

A major contributor to this decrease was a 42% drop in broadcast revenues, decreasing from £106.4m to £61.6m. This downturn was attributed to Manchester United's participation in the Europa League instead of the Champions League in the 2023-24 season.

Alarmingly, United's debt increased from £506.6m to £515.7m due to unfavourable exchange rate changes. On the brighter side, commercial revenue saw an improvement of 18.5% scaling up from £71.8m to £85.1m. This was primarily credited to a front-of-shirt partnership with Snapdragon.

The financial figures also included a £14.5m 'exceptional item', comprising £10.4m spent on the departure of Ten Hag and his coaching staff in October and £4.1m on Ashworth’s exit in December.

United's chief executive officer Omar Berrada acknowledged the existing challenges in improving the men's team's league position and assured the efforts of the entire staff to enhance the same.

In light of these figures, United informed its supporters in January about the difficult choices that must be made, as it was noted the club is on the brink of breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.

Under these rules, clubs can incur a maximum loss of £105m over a three-year reporting interval. United is taking the necessary steps to curb losses, which have totaled over £370m in the past five years, by implementing restructuring decisions projected to yield savings of between £30m-£40m.