How Much Ruben Amorim Sacking Will Cost Man Utd—Report

Man Utd already had to splash in excess of £20 million to get rid of Erik ten Hag and hire Amorim 18 months ago.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe (right) has made a costly Ruben Amorim decision. / Zohaib Alam-MUFC/Manchester United/Catherine Ivill-AMA/Getty Images

Manchester United will reportedly have to pay out the salary Ruben Amorim is owed across the remaining 18 months of his contract after parting ways with the Portuguese tactician.

United’s brief statement confirming Amorim’s exit described the club as “reluctant” to make the decision. Given the dire nature of the results throughout the 40-year-old’s 14 months at the helm, this reticence may have been more relevant to the financial cost of such a decision.

The most valuable club in the Premier League is, somewhat counterintuitively, not blessed with an abundance of riches at the moment. Minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sensationally claimed last March that United would “run out of money at Christmas” unless they adopted dramatic cost-cutting measures.

LIVE. Amorim Sacked Live Blog. Reaction to Ruben Amorim’s Shock Man Utd Departure. dark

More than 400 non-playing employees were made redundant over the 2024–25 season but Amorim, who led United to 15th in the Premier League, the club’s lowest top-flight league finish since they were relegated in 1974, maintained his position.

It was theorised that the costly pay-out he was owed played some part in the decision to keep him. Reports at the time claimed that Amorim would be entitled to a compensation package of £12 million ($16.2 million) should he be sacked in the first year of his contract.

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However, after making it to his maiden anniversary—which elapsed on Nov. 1—Amorim is still owed the remainder of the salary he was entitled to. This is due to a clause in his contract which prevents any “discounted” pay-off, ensuring that United will have to cough up the full 18 months of wages Amorim had left on a contract which stretched until June 2027, per The Athletic.

Given Amorim was thought to be on an annual wage of £6.5 million, another year-and-a-half should earn the 40-year-old £9.75 million.

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Staggering Total Cost of Ruben Amorim’s Nightmare Man Utd Tenure

Ruben Amorim has been a costly hire. / Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

It’s been 14 expensive months for Manchester United under Amorim. The costly process of extracting him from Sporting CP came after the club had to pay out Erik ten Hag back in the bumbling autumn months of 2024.

United’s official accounts reveal that this undertaking amounted to a steep £21.4 million.

Ten Hag was in a position of strength in October 2024 having only signed a contract extension in the summer before. The compensation for the Dutch boss and his coaching team of René Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar, Pieter Morel and Ruud van Nistelrooy cost United £10.4 million.

Amorim was under contract at Sporting when United came calling. The two-time top-flight title winner back in Portugal was reluctant to leave his reigning champions in the middle of a season but eventually took the plunge at the risk of missing the boat entirely. United paid Sporting £11 million to secure the services of Amorim and his coaching team of Carlos Fernandes, Jorge Vital, Adélio Cândido, Emanuel Ferro and Paulo Barreira.

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Despite bemoaning a supposed lack of funds, Amorim was still treated to a pretty significant financial outlay across his two full transfer windows at Old Trafford. Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven arrived in a subdued January 2025 transfer window yet this summer saw the Red Devils part ways with as much as £232.5 million—the fifth highest expenditure in the division.

“Call me naïve but I believe I am the right guy at the right moment,” Amorim declared at his introductory Manchester United press conference. “I could be wrong but the Earth still will turn, the sun will rise again. It doesn’t matter.” Another day has broken in the wake of Amorim’s sacking, but this costly failure may matter to the bean-counters at United.

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Breakdown of Amorim’s Costly Man Utd Tenure

Action	Cost
Sacking Erik ten Hag	£10.4 million
Hiring Ruben Amorim	£11 million
January 2025 Transfer Window	£30.6 million
Summer 2025 Transfer Window	£232.5 million
Sacking Ruben Amorim	£9.75 million*

* Estimate based on reports.

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