ManU faces a bill in the region of £24M ($30.3M) should it elect to replace José Mourinho "before the end of the winter transfer window," according to Duncan Castles of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. While the compensation package due to the 55-year-old will fall by 25% should Mourinho "fail to secure qualification for next season's Champions League," the club faces a "minimum liability" of £18M ($22.7M) to dismiss the coach who has led it to two major trophies and its highest Premier League finish of the post-Alex Ferguson era. The improved contract ManU agreed to with Mourinho 11 months ago runs until the end of the '19-20 season, "with an option of a further season." The deal reportedly "includes a severance package equivalent to one year's salary." With 25% of Mourinho's pay conditional on qualification for Europe's premier club competition, ManU would remain liable for the Champions League "top-up" were it to dismiss its manager while he was "still in this season's competition or in contention for fourth place" in the EPL. Although Mourinho stated that "the owners and the board...are showing me also their ambition, their commitment, their desire to go in the right direction" upon extending his contract, there have been "problems between" manager and CEO for many months, with last summer's transfer window "descending into a major point of conflict" (DAILY RECORD, 12/17).
