‘Man United have blown two £20m deals’ – ‘it’s big for Ratcliffe to swallow’
Man United have been shaken up since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took charge of football operations 12 months ago.
The Red Devils have slipped into mid-table in the Premier League, while Erik ten Hag has been replaced in the Old Trafford dugout by Ruben Amorim.
Dan Ashworth was appointed as sporting director last year and arrived in July 2024, before leaving the club just five months later.
Ratcliffe has also overseen 250 redundancies at Man United, with a further 200 staff expected to be let go in the coming months.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – has had his say on the billionaire’s latest “£20million mistake” at United.
Ashworth and Ten Hag exits cost Man United ‘£20m’
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted Man United have paid £20million to terminate the contracts of Ten Hag and Ashworth.
| Season | Premier League finish |
| 2023-24 | 8th |
| 2022-23 | 3rd |
| 2021-22 | 6th |
| 2020-21 | 2nd |
| 2019-20 | 3rd |
Those figures were revealed in the club’s accounts for the last three months of 2024, which were released last week – with United’s losses over the past five years now totalling over £370million.
Wyness insisted the payouts to Ratcliffe and Ten Hag will be a “big issue for Ratcliffe to swallow” as he undertakes cost-cutting measures across the operation.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “What from I understand, that’s about right. There was the compensation payout to Newcastle and then to Dan himself for letting him go so quickly.
“That would be about right at around £4.1million.
“The Ten Hag sacking cost about £14million – so it’s almost £20million of mistakes, and these are two simple errors.
“It’s a big issue for Ratcliffe to swallow.”
Man United sponsorship deals could be terminated
Wyness has previously told Football Insider (28 February) that Man United’s revenue crisis could get even worse after a drop of 12% was revealed in their latest accounts.
He suggested companies like Snapdragon will be “questioning” their level of commitment to the Red Devils due to their poor on-pitch performance.
The Snapdragon deal is worth £300million to Man United over the agreement’s five-year duration.
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