Just like many a time in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, Manchester United's boardroom bosses find themselves in a similar situation – and, if you've not realised, we are only one month into the new campaign. Do the Red Devils give an underperforming Ruben Amorim, who has racked up just 31 points from 31 matches in the Premier League, the boot? Or do they keep him in the Old Trafford dugout as a means of giving him time to turn things around?
Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November 2024 after the Dutchman lost his job after a controversial 2-1 loss to West Ham United and, in his first season, he reached the Europa League final – which his side lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur – and finished 15th in the Premier League table. The 2025/26 campaign hasn't started much better.
Should results not improve under the Portuguese tactician, 40, reports have suggested that he will be given his P45 by the October international break – which would give him three final games at the helm of the Old Trafford outfit. If United choose to end Amorim's contract prematurely, the Daily Mail have claimed that he'll be paid £12 million as a result. But how does that compensation package compare to former United managers?
The Compensation Packages of Former Man Utd Managers
Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag
Amorim – widely regarded as one of the best young managers in world football – would become the seventh post-Ferguson manager to get the sack if Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS-led team pull the plug. The first was David Moyes, who had received the public backing of his compatriot Ferguson in 2013, and he cost the Manchester club a total of £5.2 million. He was axed just half a year into his six-year contract.
Louis van Gaal came in to replace Moyes, now in charge of Everton, and managed to survive a two-season period, equating to 103 matches in charge, at the club. The Dutch tactician, now 74 years of age, was paid £8.4 million after the axe was swung following his side winning the FA Cup final in May 2016.
The enigmatic Jose Mourinho, a serial winner with Chelsea and Real Madrid, then had a crack at the whip at Old Trafford – but his sacking, which put the club back £19.6 million, remains the most costly of the current era. The Portuguese has often been paid handsomely to be sacked, as evidenced by the total of £93 million he's been paid by several clubs that have given him the boot.
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A true club cult hero is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Famed for scoring that goal which secured United the treble in 1999, the Norwegian took over from the aforementioend Mourinho as the caretaker manager initially in December 2018.
His spell was turned permanent by the club's hierarchy in March 2019 as he was deemed to be the long-term solution to the once-dominant English side's managerial woes. Solskjaer lasted longer than any other manager in the club's post-Ferguson demise – a total of four years, that is – but he was sacked in November 2021, costing the club £10 million.
Man Utd - Compensation For Former Managers
Manager
David Moyes
Louis van Gaal
Jose Mourinho
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer
Ralf Rangnick
Erik ten Hag
Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick took over briefly until Ten Hag was appointed in May 2022, moving from Eredivisie side Ajax. Rangnick, who was initially expected to join the club in an upstairs role, pocketed a handsome £15 million when he was sacked.
As mentioned, Ten Hag was given his marching orders after losing 1-0 to West Ham – and that was despite the Dutchman winning the League Cup and FA Cup in back-to-back campaigns. Ten Hag took charge of 128 matches, racking up a 1.84 points per match rate in the process, during his spell at Old Trafford. In return for ending his contract early, the club were obliged to pay him a total of £14.5 million.
All figures per the Daily Mail - correct as of 17/09/2025