How much it cost Manchester United to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Manchester United spent almost £10million on compensation for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and some of his coaching staff.

The Norwegian was sacked in November after a string of disastrous results, culminating in a 4-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Watford.

Solskjaer received a pay-off of around £7.5million but the total compensation package was higher and some of his coaching staff also had compensation payments but their names and figures were not disclosed.

Michael Carrick, Kieran McKenna and Martyn Pert all left in the weeks after Solskjaer's departure. Carrick left the club after three games as caretaker manager and McKenna was appointed manager at Ipswich Town, taking Pert with him.

In revealing their latest accounts, which take in the period up to December 31, United included 'exceptional items' of £10million, almost all of which went on compensation payouts.

A statement in the latest accounts said: "Exceptional items for the quarter were a cost of £10 million. This cost includes compensation to the former men’s first team manager and certain members of the coaching staff for loss of office plus additional contributions we expect to pay towards the Football League pension scheme deficit based upon the latest actuarial valuation."

United posted a profit of £5.4million for the three-month period and also saw revenues rise by 7.3%, mostly as a result of the return of fans at Old Trafford.

Cliff Baty, Chief Financial Officer, said: “For the second fiscal quarter of 2022, we achieved robust revenue growth of 7.3% despite the postponement of two matches in the quarter due to COVID-19.

"Results reflect the continued strength of our sponsorship revenues, supported by record-breaking digital fan engagement, in addition to