How much have Man Utd paid to sack managers since Sir Alex Ferguson?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 5 Jan 2026 15:27 CST
• 4 min read

News

Manchester United have spent a fortune on paying out the contracts of sacked managers since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013.

Ruben Amorim is the latest victim of the managerial graveyard at Old Trafford. The Portuguese was dismissed after 14 disastrous months in the job following a public outburst at the club's hierarchy caused by a breakdown in the relationship with director Jason Wilcox.

Amorim had replaced Erik ten Hag in November 2024, but he was unable to turn the Red Devils' fortunes around. They slumped to their worst Premier League finish under the former Sporting CP boss and lost the Europa League final to an equally underwhelming Tottenham side.

Amorim then oversaw a humiliating Carabao Cup exit to League Two side Grimsby early on in his second campaign. When the coach was dismissed on 5 January 2026, Man Utd were still within reach of a Champions League spot, but his outburst made his position untenable.

Amorim was the 10th different manager (including caretakers) to take charge of Man Utd since 2013.

The Old Trafford outfit are yet to win the Premier League or the Champions League since Ferguson’s departure, but they have spent a fortune on both players and managers in a bid to return to the very top of European football.

In fact, Man Utd have paid a total of €101.8m (£85.2m) to sack managers since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

How much have Man Utd paid to sack managers since 2013?

Ferguson hand-picked David Moyes as his replacement in 2013, but the Scotsman failed to land his two big targets during the summer window - Cesc Fabregas and Gareth Bale - and things went downhill quickly.

Moyes was sacked before the end of his debut Man Utd season, with his six-year contract ending extremely prematurely in April 2014. The Red Devils paid Moyes and his backroom staff €6.2m in compensation.

Louis van Gaal was the next permanent Man Utd manager and despite a slight upturn in results, he also failed to deliver consistent success at Old Trafford and his payoff was over €10m upon his sacking in May 2016.

Jose Mourinho enjoyed a fantastic first season at Man Utd, winning the EFL Cup and the Europa League, before guiding them to a second-place finish in the 2017-18 Premier League season.

However, he was sent back into unemployment in December 2018, with Man Utd forced to pay €23.5m to sack The Special One.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Mourinho’s replacement, was sacked just under three years later, with a €12m payoff, while Man Utd paid Ralf Rangnick €18m in compensation, despite the fact he was only an interim manager.

Ten Hag was reportedly owed €20.4m following his sacking in October 2024, while Amorim stands to earn a comparatively modest €11.6m. However, the overall cost of the Portuguese in terms of wages and signing fee from Sporting CP amounted to over €30m.

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