Sacking Jose Mourinho cost Manchester United £19.6m
Written by News on 15/02/2019
Sacking Jose Mourinho cost Manchester United £19.6m, latest financial results from the club have revealed.
Figures for the three months to the end of December showed that was the cost to the club of “compensation to the former manager and certain members of the coaching staff for loss of office”.
It means the club has now spent £33.2m dismissing the three managers hired since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 at the end of a trophy-laden 26 years in charge.
The pay-off for Mourinho was less than reported in some quarters but more than double the £8.4m it cost United to sack predecessor Louis van Gaal and four times the £5.2m hit from axing David Moyes in 2014.
Mourinho, who proclaimed himself the “special one” when he first arrived in the Premier League as Chelsea manager in 2004, was fired by United before Christmas following a dismal string of results.
Manchester United’s former striker OIe Gunnar Solskjaer has replaced him as caretaker until the end of the season.
Executive chairman Ed Woodward said the appointment of Solskjaer and assistant Mike Phelan “has had a positive impact throughout the club”.
He added: “We are delighted with the improvement in the team’s performances since December and we look forward to a strong finish to the 18/19 season.”
Mr Woodward told investors on a conference call that Solskjaer had “revived” the team by opening his tenure as manager with eight successive wins.
Revenue for the quarter was up 18% at £208.6m as a new rights agreement for the Champions League helped boost broadcasting income, while underlying profits rose 28% to £104.3m.
The club, which is listed on the New York stock exchange, said it continued to expect revenues of £615m- £630m for the full year and earnings of £175m-£190m.
(c) Sky News 2019: Sacking Jose Mourinho cost Manchester United £19.6m
