United In Focus picks out the six worst contracts on Manchester United’s salary bill.
Manchester United’s haphazard recruitment policy across the post-Ferguson era is still being felt, despite Ineos making considerable improvements.
With a revolving door of managers/head coaches, there has been a high turnover of players. However, some are harder to shift than others, and bad decisions have been made along the way.
We have picked out the five worst contracts on Manchester United’s books, and perhaps controversially, Casemiro does not feature.
Casemiro is actually contributing at an elite level, and while that does not mean it was sensible to offer him a £350,000 per-week deal into his mid-30s, it is a contract United have got a fair return on.
There are six far worse deals on United’s books.
6) Kobbie Mainoo
A bad contract does not have to be because a player is overpaid. Instead it can be dangerous to underpay a first team star.
Kobbie Mainoo is still on the contract he signed in 2023. His current deal runs to 2027, with United able to trigger an extension to 2028.
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Top teams across Europe will be monitoring the situation and will be happy to scoop him up if United somehow blow it.
The situation was looking dangerous under Ruben Amorim. Now, Mainoo has re-established himself as a first team player, and you would hope it is only a matter of time before he signs a new deal.
But right now Mainoo is not being paid like a key first-team player, and United need to get this sorted out.
How worried are you about Kobbie Mainoo not yet signing a new contract?
Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on February 1, 2026
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
5) Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire earns £190,000 per-week. While this is far less than Casemiro, Maguire’s deal needs to be looked at through a different lens for two reasons.
Casemiro has announced he is already going. Harry Maguire could stay on at Old Trafford.
There is just no way that United can match his current deal on any contract extension.
Maguire is playing himself into a new deal, but it must be on a reduced salary.
He is a starter at present – but would he be a starter if everybody was fit? Will he be a starter next season?
The answer to both questions is ‘probably not’, so he should not be paid like a first choice player moving forward.
Should Harry Maguire get a contract extension beyond the 2025/26 season?
Harry Maguire celebrating at Anfield
Photo by PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images
4) Tyrell Malacia
Tyrell Malacia should not be a Manchester United player in 2026. We can’t put it any more simply than that.
Malacia has not contributed in a meaningful way to United since the 2023/24 season.
United tried to sell him last summer, but couldn’t find a taker. His £75,000 per-week wages were a factor, and while that’s not a huge amount, United are getting little value.
The good news is that Malacia’s deal expires in June, and he will be released.
Mason Mount during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford in 2025 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
3) Mason Mount
There is no escaping the fact Mason Mount is overpaid based on his contribution to Manchester United since he signed in 2023.
Mount was given the number seven shirt and paid like an elite star. It was wishful thinking on United’s part.
The former Chelsea star is said to earn as much as £250,000 per-week.
Now in his third season at the club, Mount has started 10 Premier League games this season, his best return to date.
That tells you how terribly his injury-struck spell has gone.
If United did try to sell Mount this summer, then his high wages would be problematic to any deal.
2) Marcus Rashford
Manchester United were forced into a tough position in 2023 when Marcus Rashford scored 30 goals in a ‘contract year’.
He was quickly rewarded with a new deal earning £325,000 per-week, with United desperate not to lose him.
Rashford’s form immediately nosedived, and by the end of this season he will have spent the past 18 months out on loan.
His high wages are a potential blocker to a permanent deal with Barcelona. Rashford will need to take a reduction.
If a deal cannot be agreed, then United risk being stuck with Rashford until 2028.
1) Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho is the worst signing in Manchester United history, and the club have been stuck with his £250,000 per-week wages on the books.
Sancho has not played a Premier League game for Manchester United since August 2023.
The winger has refused all avenues to leave permanently, unwilling to take a drop in salary.
Sancho is on loan at Aston Villa, who are covering 80 per cent of his wages this season.
That means United are still paying 20 per cent too much.
The good news is that Sancho’s deal finally expires in June 2026. Good riddance.
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