Man United reveals the cost of its delayed decision to fire Erik ten Hag

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The decision to fire Erik ten Hag and the departure of Dan Ashworth as sporting director cost Manchester United more than $18 million, the club said Wednesday when revealing its latest financial results.

Ten Hag lost his job on Oct. 28, just three months after the Dutch coach was handed a one-year contract extension at United following months of uncertainty over his future.

United was in 14th place in the Premier League at the time, having lost four of its opening nine league games. The team, now managed by Ruben Amorim, is currently in 15th place with a total of 12 losses in its 25 league games in what is shaping up to be United’s worst ever Premier League campaign.

Barely a month after Ten Hag departed, Dan Ashworth — hired during the offseason as United’s sporting director — left the club less than six months after taking up his role, which had followed tough negotiations to take him away from Newcastle.

As part of its second quarter financial results, United said “exceptional items” of 14.5 million pounds ($18.2 million) “relates to costs associated with the departure of former men’s first team manager Erik ten Hag and various members of football staff.”

Ten Hag only held on to his job following an unexpected victory over fierce rival Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May and an extensive end-of-year review by United, overseen by Jim Ratcliffe — the British billionaire who has taken over control of United’s soccer operations. Ten Hag was then handed an extension to his contract, to 2026.

Since taking charge in November, Amorim might be doing even worse than Ten Hag. He said last month it could be the worst Man United team in the club’s history.

United spent 11 million pounds (then $12 million) to trigger Amorim’s release from Sporting Lisbon.

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