Manchester United's Dan Ashworth pay off revealed as Newcastle United get the last laugh
Newcastle United lost Dan Ashworth to Manchester United but the chief only lasted five months at Old Trafford
Manchester United were forced to pay more to relieve sporting director Dan Ashworth than it cost to bring him to Old Trafford, the club's latest quarterly accounts can reveal.
The Red Devils poached the boardroom chief from Newcastle, for a figure of between £2-3m last summer, after a very ugly gardening leave for the then-St James' Park employee. Ashworth would ultimately only last just five months at Old Trafford before it was decided he should leave his position at the fallen Premier League giants in December.
Now, it has been revealed Manchester United were forced to pay £4.1m as he departed the club before Christmas - news that will no doubt be amusing to those of a black and white persuasion given their rivals fought so hard to lure Ashworth from the north east to the north west. The former Brighton chief is still without a job since leaving the Red Devils in December, despite recent links to Arsenal.
It has been a turbulent season - on and off the pitch - for Manchester United, as minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe enacts brutal cost-cutting measures at the club. The club's latest results reveal a total of £14.5m in exceptional costs contributing to a second-quarter loss of £27.7m.
Manchester United paid £10.4m to sack former manager Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff, before another payoff months later to Ashworth. The club are also understood to have spent around £10m to sign Ruben Amorim from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.
Manchester United have posted continuous losses over the last five years, equalling £373m since the start of the 2019-20 season. As such, Ratcliffe is overseeing major changes in order to save money.
Last week it was revealed the INEOS chief and Britain's richest man would be axing 200 jobs inside the club. This, after 250 staff were relieved of their roles in the autumn. Meanwhile, in January, Manchester United signed Patrick Dorgu from Lecce for a fee of £250m.