José Mourinho and his staff received £19.6M payoff from ManU. GETTY IMAGES
ManU made a payoff of almost £20M ($25.6M) to former Manager José Mourinho and his staff, the club’s half-yearly accounts revealed, according to Paul Wilson of the London GUARDIAN. The manager was sacked in December after 17 league games in his third season, with a contract due to expire at the end of the '19-20 campaign. Figures released on Thursday list a sum of £19.6M ($25M) as "an exceptional item relating to compensation to the former manager and certain members of the coaching staff for loss of office." Goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro, scout Ricardo Formosinho, analyst Giovanni Cerra and fitness coaches Stefano Rapetti and Carlos Lalín are "expected to have received payment," though it is likely most of the money went to Mourinho, who was earning £15M ($19M) a year at Old Trafford. Mourinho said that he is "not finished with club management yet" (GUARDIAN, 2/14). The PA's Matt Slater reported the £19.6M is less than what was "initially reported" in some quarters but four times the amount ManU had to pay predecessors David Moyes and Louis van Gaal when they were fired in '14 and '16, respectively. The severance pay, however, is the "only bad grade in an otherwise glowing report," with the club posting record revenues of £208.6M for the second quarter, which translate into EBITDA of £104.3M and an operating profit of £44M. The club’s wage bill for the quarter, which ended on Dec. 31, rose to £77.9M, an increase of £8.2M (11.8%) compared to the corresponding period a year ago. Commercial revenue, "thanks to new sponsors" such as Remington, inched up to £65.9M, although the retail and merchandising part of that equation "fell slightly," and matchday proceeds increased by £2.1M (5.7%) from 12 months ago (PA, 2/14).
BOOSTED REVENUE: In London, Murad Ahmed reported a new TV contract for the Champions League "boosted" revenue at ManU. The "main reason" behind the increase is the start of a broadcasting deal signed by UEFA, which will ensure that close to €1.95B ($2.2B) is being shared among clubs participating in this season's tournament (FINANCIAL TIMES, 2/14).
