Exclusive: How sacking Erik ten Hag and appointing Ruben Amorim could affect Manchester United under PSR
Today at 01:15 PM
- EXCLUSIVE from Adam Williams
Manchester United have finally bitten the bullet at sacked Erik ten Hag following their defeat on the weekend away to West Ham United.
It has been a seriously underwhelming start to the season for Manchester United who are currently slumped down in 14th spot of the Premier League.
Ruud van Nistelrooy will become Man United’s interim manager with the Red Devils taking on Leicester City on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup.
However, Ineos will not be looking to hang about in finding their replacement for Ten Hag with a quick upturn in results needed at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim is set to become Man United’s next manager with a hope the Portuguese boss could be in the dugout for the weekend’s game against Chelsea.
But there are plenty of expenses needing to be considered when it comes to changing managers not even midway through the season.
Will sacking Erik ten Hag will hinder Manchester United under PSR?
Bring in Amorim from Sporting CP is going to require United to pay a release clause believed to be worth in the region of £8m.
This comes at a time when Sir Jim Ratcliffe has sacked 250 staff members at Man United to ease the wage bill at the club.
“I don’t think United’s ability to spend under the terms of PSR will necessarily be damaged by this. However, it does make the margins tighter,” said Williams.
“What is being reported is around £13m in compensation to Ten Hag, plus £8m-plus for Amorim. That is significant, especially given that they posted a £113m loss for 2023/24.
“Under PSR, I think they will be fine. We are moving to a new system in any case from next season and that will alter the dynamics.
“Ultimately, the owners will have looked at it from a cost-benefit point of view. The cost of sacking Ten Hag and hiring a new coach is dwarfed by the cash they would lose – both in terms of prize money and commercial income – if they failed to qualify for the Champions League again, so the gamble makes sense as an opportunity cost.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe could make further Man United cutbacks
The summer transfer window was Ratcliffe’s first opportunity to put his stamp on the club following his takeover.
Despite their shaky start to the season, United invested heavily in their squad with some significant signings made.
| Player | Fee |
| Leny Yoro | £52m |
| Manuel Ugarte | £50m |
| Matthijs de Ligt | £42m |
| Joshua Zirkzee | £36m |
| Noussair Mazraoui | £13m |
But Williams thinks there could be even more cutbacks sanctioned behind the scenes by Ratcliffe to help ease the club’s finances.
“Other operating costs will probably be scaled back because of Ratcliffe’s cutbacks across the club,” he added.
“Although, it should be noted that he has had to fork out about £10m in redundancy payments to the 250 staff he sacked in a ‘headcount rationalisation’ a few weeks ago. “
