MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Manchester United spent more than $8 million to pay off David Moyes and his coaching staff, the club said today.
The 20-time English champions also said revenue was expected to drop by about $80 million because of the club’s failure to qualify for a European competition.
Moyes lost his job ten months after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson. United ended up in seventh place one year after winning the Premier League title.
In its annual financial results, United highlighted a cost of 5.2 million pounds ($8.4 million) “primarily related to compensation payments on loss of office to the former manager and certain members of the coaching staff”.
Louis van Gaal replaced Moyes, but has failed to win in his first four matches, including an embarrassing League Cup loss at third-tier club MK Dons.
United, which is owned by the Glazer family and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, remains a commercial juggernaut, with 2013-14 revenue up 19 per cent to a club record 433.2 million pounds ($699 million). But United forecast revenue in 2014-15 to drop by ten per cent to as low as 385 million pounds ($619 million) due in part to the lack of UEFA income.
United has been reinvesting its sponsorship revenue, which soared by 50 per cent to 135.8 million pounds ($219 million) in the year to June 30, by bringing in new players. The accounts show 78.9 million pounds ($127 million) spent on players, including the signing of Juan Mata in January for 37.1 million pounds (then $61 million). The wage bill rose by almost 20 per cent to 214.8 million pounds ($345 million).
Since the end of the financial year, United has spent about $250 million, including a British record fee of 59.7 million pounds ($99 million) to sign Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid.
“With Louis van Gaal at the helm as manager, and the recent signing of some of the world’s leading players to further strengthen our squad, we are very excited about the future and believe it’s the start of a new chapter in the club’s history,” United vice chairman Ed Woodward said in a statement.
Van Gaal, who won titles with Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, took his first job in English football after leading the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the World Cup.
