Manchester United paid out at least £24.7million in compensation to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick to leave the club last season.
This was revealed on Thursday, as the Premier League club confirmed a net loss of £115.5m last season in their quarterly financial figures.
United’s net debt now stands at £514.9m, compared to £419.5m for the same period the previous year – an increase of £95.4m.
Man United had the highest wage bill in the Premier League last season and while the compensation packages paid out to managers and their staff are relatively small in the club’s overall outgoings, it is reflective of their below-par strategy and planning in comparison to their rivals.
In March, United revealed that they paid out £10m on ‘exceptional items’ in the second quarter of the financial year – a figure that included the compensation to Solskjaer and other members of his coaching staff that left the club.
The Norwegian was reported to have received in the region of £7.5m as a payoff, having penned a contract renewal at Old Trafford just months earlier. Michael Carrick stepped up from coach to take over as caretaker after Solskjaer’s exit, but the former midfielder left the club following the appointment of Rangnick.
Carrick’s departure followed that of first-team coach Kieran McKenna, now manager at Ipswich, and strength and conditioning specialist Martyn Pert. United did not name the other coaches entitled to compensation due to confidentiality.
Rangnick was subsequently appointed as the interim boss at United but left at the end of the season as his two-year consultancy role was ripped up, with the coach being appointed as the new manager of the Austrian national team. He departed the club alongside his coaching appointments, including assistant Chris Armas.
It continued a trend of United having to pay out the contracts of former managers; David Moyes was sacked just nine months into his six-year contract, while Jose Mourinho’s contract extension in 2018 preceded his sacking that year.