MANCHESTER UNITED have spent a staggering £69.8million on sacking managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
And under-fire boss Ruben Amorim could be added to the club's costly compensation list if he's sent packing before his first anniversary on November 1.
United were meant to push on from last season’s record low 15th place Prem finish, but find themselves 14th after three defeats in six league games.
Club insiders have confirmed Amorim’s job is safe for now, despite the Portuguese boss winning just nine of his 33 Prem matches - with three of those victories coming against last season’s relegated sides.
United paid around £11m to bring him and his staff to Manchester, but could soon be forced to splash more than that on settlement packages if they let him go.
Amorim, 40, is the club’s sixth permanent manager in the 12 years since Ferguson retired. And all that instability comes at a price.
Even Ferguson's own departure incurred costs.
The club spent £2.4m compensating the long-term coaching staff at Carrington who were not wanted by handpicked successor David Moyes.
The revolving door started with Moyes, whose six-year contract was terminated after only 10 months in the job the following April.
Paying off the current Everton manager and his staff cost United £5.2m - which was the cheapest of the club’s modern-day dismissals.
United were forced to pay £8.4m to sack Louis van Gaal and his assistants in 2016, just two days after lifting the FA Cup.
Next came Jose Mourinho, whose December 2018 dismissal netted him and his entourage a hefty £19.6m.
The now Benfica boss, who returned to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, was awarded the largest managerial payout in United’s history.
After a poor run of results, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s axing cost £9.1m in 2023.
Accounts for the last quarter of 2024 show the cost of sacking Erik ten Hag and his backroom staff, along with Ruud van Nistelrooy after his spell as caretaker, put United £10.4m out of pocket.
And Ten Hag’s exit was compounded by the fact he was handed a one-year extension less than four months before his judgment day.
Ralf Rangnick's compensation remains unclear.
He was brought in as an interim manager following Solskjaer’s flight, with a two-year consultancy role set to begin after the 2021-22 season.
The German never took up the latter position, but his departure in May 2022 coincided with a further £14.7m in costs landing on United’s books.
That £14.7m reportedly did not all go to Rangnick and his team, with an unknown sum of it going to wider staff changes.
Including the Rangnick sum from United's financial reports, the club have splashed nearly £70million on managers since the glory days.
On its own, for a club of their stature, that’s not a huge amount.
Plenty of clubs, including Chelsea, have spent over £100m on changing their dugout since 2003.
United continue to make record revenue but on-field underperformance is slowly eating into off-field resources, with no Champions League football riches to look forward to.
Sacking Amorim and his backroom team would bring further immediate costs.
How much is unclear, but with his contract not due to expire until June 2027, the amounts will prove expensive.
Despite reports to the contrary, sources are adamant the club’s hierarchy are not lining up a list of replacements for the former Sporting manager ahead of Sunderland's visit on Saturday.