The staggering cost of sacking Solskjaer and Rangnick for Man Utd

Suraj Radia

22 Sept 2022 16:54 BST
3 min read

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, man Utd, 2021/22 — © ProShots

Manchester United have announced the figures from their last financial year which also reveals how much the club spent to terminate the contracts of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

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United reported a net loss of £114.5 million for the 2021-22 season despite revenues rising 18% to £583.2m, while the club's debt went up more than 22% to £514.9m.

A large portion of United's expenditure were the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane last summer, which saw the wage bill rise £61.6m (19.1%) to £384.2m, the highest in Premier League history.

The figures also show that United spent £24.7m on payoffs to Solksjaer, sacked in November 2021, and Rangnick, who did not end up taking on the two-year consultancy role that he initially agreed to after his stint as interim manager.

Chief financial officer Cliff Baty said: "Our financial results for fiscal 2022 reflect a recovery from the pandemic, a full return of fans and new commercial partnerships offset by increased investment in the playing squad.

"Our results have been adversely affected by the absence of a summer tour in July 2021, material exceptional and increased utility costs, and the impact of the weakening of sterling on our non-cash finance costs."

United hint at less spending in future transfer windows

Despite the losses, United backed new manager Erik ten Hag this summer, spending more than £200m on the likes of Casemiro, Antony and Lisandro Martinez.

The club reportedly doubled their transfer budget after a dismal start to the season, which saw United lose their opening two games to leave them bottom of the Premier League for the first time in 30 years.

Manchester United interest cost £62.2m for 2021/22, mainly due to weakness of £. Takes total interest cost for the club under the Glazers to £886m. Gross borrowings £636 million. Despite the losses the club paid record dividends of £33.6 million in the year #MUFC #Glazernomics pic.twitter.com/FdDI510pBX
— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) September 22, 2022

Despite Ten Hag claiming United will be looking at ways to improve in the upcoming January window, director John Murtough hinted that more attention would be given to next summer's business.

Murtough said: "There is still a long way to go, but we have already seen, during his [Ten Hag] first four months in charge, an increased unity, focus and drive that bodes well for the future."

"Overall, we are ahead of schedule in our recruitment plans as envisaged at the start of the summer, and we do not anticipate the same level of activity in future windows. As always, our planning focuses on the summer window."