The £57million wasted by Manchester United that Sir Jim Ratcliffe might be forced to add to

What does £57million get you in modern football? A decade of failure. That is the cost to Manchester United of dispensing with their unwanted managers since 2013 and the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.

It's an era that has produced so much waste at Old Trafford that £57million can actually look like a drop in the ocean, especially when placed alongside the £1billion spent on signings. Yet in a way, the two issues go hand in hand. It's a figure and a problem that Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be wrestling with over the next couple of months as he weighs up whether to add to the cost.

Erik ten Hag's future remains on the line as he enters the final two months of the season, with a strong finish required to be sure of staying for the third year of the contract he signed in the summer of 2022. If Ineos decide they want to change manager as part of their overhauling of the football structure at United, it could cost them around £10million to dispense with Ten Hag.

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He would become the sixth manager to walk away from United with a sizeable sum in compensation in the previous 10 years. According to figures from United's accounts over the years, collated last week by respected football finance blogger Swiss Ramble, the severance packages paid to bosses and their coaching teams is now close to £60millon.

In 2014 it cost United £5million to part ways with David Moyes. When Louis van Gaal left the cost documented in accounts was £8million, while that rose to £20million for Jose Mourinho's exit in November 2018. The accounts detailing the departures of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf