Manchester United ponder £55 million puzzle as Ruben Amorim tethers on the brink

Manchester United are pondering the cost of replacing Ruben Amorim

Manchester United are in a difficult position as debate continues over Ruben Amorim’s future. Pressure is intensifying after a poor start, but dismissing him would carry a heavy financial cost. According to Football Insider, finance expert Dr Dan Plumley explained that United have already spent over £55 million on managerial sackings since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Those past pay-outs make the club cautious, since another change would drain resources while revenues are already low.

Plumley noted that the club spent around £10–11 million to bring Amorim in, and sacking him would mean another big payment. There are wider consequences too, since each Premier League place is worth about £3 million in prize money. United finished at their lowest level in terms of broadcast and prize money revenue last season, with no European competition to ease the blow. This puts the financial trade-off at the centre of United’s decision. For now, that cost may be a reason why Amorim remains in charge.

“It’s a huge factor, isn’t it? They’ve spent at least £55 million on sacking managers since Sir Alex Ferguson left.

“That’s a decent amount of money by anyone’s stretch, and I think it was around £10-11m to bring Amorim in. We’ve seen the trend, and it does hit the finances.

“It’s one of those where if you are going to sack that manager, that comes at a cost.

“Now, he’s got a couple of years left on his contract, so we don’t quite know what that number would be, but it’ll be, you know, in the low millions, for sure, given where he’s at.

“If you then look at the other side of that equation, it becomes that risk management approach to how you want to view it, because each place in the Premier League is worth about £3 million.

“They’ve just come off the back of their lowest ever season in broadcast and prize money revenue terms because of where they finished. They’ve got no European football.

“So, if they do have aspirations to push on at the table, then you might find that they do end up sacking him, because the trade-off might be, well, if we can finish higher, then we’re gonna offset some of that cost.

“The cost is substantial. I think it is being factored in to the decision-making process, absolutely.

“It may be why he’s still there at the moment, but again, in football and with Man United and managers, never say never at the moment.”

United can see Xavi as an alternative