Pochettino appointment takes Manchester United’s post-Ferguson bill beyond £108m

Manchester United’s decision to appoint Mauricio Pochettino has taken the club’s spending on managerial changes and senior football staff beyond £100m since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Estimates by British media put the total cost at more than £108m, highlighting the scale of the instability at Old Trafford since the end of Ferguson’s highly successful reign.

According to Reuters, United will pay about £7.4m to terminate Pochettino’s contract with the United States national team. British media estimate that the dismissal of Michael Carrick and his coaching staff will add at least £5m, before the cost of ending the contracts of Pochettino’s assistants is included.

Carrick was dismissed on Thursday, less than six months after signing a two-year contract in May. Pochettino has now replaced him in the latest change to a managerial position that has remained unsettled since Ferguson’s departure.

The £100m figure is an estimate rather than a confirmed total released by Manchester United. It includes spending on managers and sporting directors, and reflects the disruption that has affected both the club’s football operations and its wider administrative structure for more than a decade.

Ruben Amorim was among the most expensive appointments. United paid Sporting €11m to release him from his contract, Reuters reported at the time, before dismissing him in January 2026 after only 14 months in charge. The club later recorded an exceptional cost of £8.2m relating to his departure and the subsequent restructuring.

United’s calculations show that the dismissal of Erik ten Hag and his staff cost £10.4m, while the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cost £9.1m.

The Daily Telegraph estimated the cost associated with Ralf Rangnick’s departure, including his staff and other changes to the football operation, at £14.7m. That figure underlined that the turnover extended beyond head coaches and also affected the club’s senior structure.

The severance costs began in the early years after Ferguson. Jose Mourinho’s dismissal in 2018 cost £19.6m, the highest figure recorded for any of United’s managers. Louis van Gaal’s departure two years earlier cost £8.4m, while David Moyes’ dismissal in 2014 cost £4.9m.

Manchester United has also paid substantial fees to make appointments. The club gave Ajax £1.6m to recruit Ten Hag and his assistant Mitchell van der Gaag, while about £1m was paid to Molde when Solskjaer became manager.

There were further costs connected with Dan Ashworth’s appointment from Newcastle United and his departure only five months later, in one of the shortest senior administrative spells in the club’s history.

Pochettino’s arrival has given United supporters hope that the Argentine can bring an end to the costly cycle of change and restore stability at Old Trafford.