Manchester United have paid around £102.8million to hire and fire managers since Sir Alex Ferguson…

That’s almost £14million more than the figure spent on their record signing.

Here are the bosses who followed Fergie ranked in order of how much they cost in compensation payments to former clubs and pay-outs when sacked…

9) Michael Carrick – around £2.9million
Estimates vary over how much United will have to pay to sack Carrick – assuming they every get around to it.

The United boss is said to be on around £5million a year but reports suggest there is a break clause which makes the club liable for only the amount that would have been due for the remainder of his first season.

8) Mauricio Pochettino – around £7.4million
United could have got Pochettino for free in the summer but, in the wake of the World Cup, the Argentinian agreed a new contract to manage United States to 2030.

Which means the Red Devils will have to pay compensation to US Soccer worth around $10million (£7.4million) for Pochettino and his staff, including long-term assistant Jesus Perez.

So far, there is no indication of how much they will have t0 pay Pochettino when they sack him and replace him with Wes Brown in late 2027.

7) David Moyes – £7.6million
United had to pay out £2.4million to coaching staff left over from Ferguson’s reign whom Moyes had no use for, while Moyes’ contract at Everton was expiring in the summer of 2013, meaning the Red Devils could take him for free.

But sacking Moyes less than one year into a six-year contract left United liable for £5.2million in compensation.

6) Louis van Gaal – £8.4million
Van Gaal’s contract with Netherlands expired after the 2014 World Cup, leaving him free to sign a three-year deal to manage United.

Van Gaal was axed two years in, making United liable for £8.4million in compensation. Had they been honest with their intention to replace the Dutchman with Jose Mourinho, Van Gaal would have let them off any pay-out. They weren’t so, so he didn’t.

5) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – £10.1million
Molde banked £1million, split over two payments, initially when United borrowed their former striker for a caretaker position in 2018, then when he was appointed as permanent boss on a three-year deal.

He signed a fresh three-year contract in summer 2021 – only to be sacked before the end of the year. It left United liable for £9.1million to Solskjaer and his staff, with the Norwegian taking around £7.5million.

4) Erik ten Hag – £12.9million
United paid Ajax £2.5million to take Erik ten Hag and his assistant Mitchell van der Gaag in summer 2022.

Two years later, in 2024, they had two options: cut Ten Hag loose, or extend his contract to 2026. United being United, they picked the wrong one. Activating a one-year extension option costing the club £10.4million when they sacked Ten Hag and his staff less than six months later.

3) Ralf Rangnick – £14.7million
United reportedly did not have to pay a penny for the Austrian when he came in as a caretaker manager in December 2021, with the ludicrous promise a two-year consultancy gig after that.

Backing out of that agreement with Rangnick cost United the bulk of almost £15million paid out in the summer of 2022, with some of his coaches and other departing football staff trousering pay-offs too.

2) Ruben Amorim – £19.2million
United had to pay around £11million to get Amorim and his staff out of Sporting Lisbon in a timely fashion in November 2024 when the Portuguese manager was identified as the man to replace Ten Hag.

It might have cost United even more to get rid. When he was sacked in January 2026, the Red Devils set aside £15.9million for compensation to Amorim and his staff, but that amount was reduced to £8.2million when the manager got a new job six months later at AC Milan.

1) Jose Mourinho – £19.6million
Mourinho’s initial United deal signed in 2016 was for three years but, in January 2018, the Red Devils agreed to extend the commitment for a further year.

Jose was out before the end of the year, sacked in December 2018, costing United almost £20million, with Mourinho banking £15million and the rest spread among his coaching staff.