Manchester United take 22m hit from sacking of Ruben Amorim

Manchester United absorbed a 22m impact from sacking Ruben Amorim but reduced the loss through better on-pitch performance and cost-cutting led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Securing Champions League football under Michael Carrick increased broadcast income by 57% in the third quarter to nearly 65m, driven by more televised games. The additional revenue raised the full-year revenue forecast to between 655m and 665m. Despite higher revenue, annual revenue at that level would be similar to 2025, when United finished eighth in Deloitte’s Football Money League. Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting included staff reductions, closure of the staff canteen, and replacing free lunches with fruit, lowering operating expenses by 19m to 525m for the first nine months. The savings were outweighed by Amorim’s payoff up to 16.7m and a 5.2m non-cash write-off related to contract costs.

"Manchester United have taken a 22m hit from the sacking of former manager Ruben Amorim but cut their losses in half thanks to improved performance on the pitch and the cost-cutting zeal of their co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. United's successful pursuit of Champions League football under Michael Carrick drove a 57% rise in broadcast income during the third quarter of the financial year to nearly 65m, as more of the club's games were picked for TV. The extra cash helped the club to increase its forecast for full-year revenue to between 655m and 665m, up from 640m-660m predicted before."

"Even as the club spent about 260m on players in 2025-26, the petrochemicals billionaire pressed on with cost-cutting that has led to the axing of hundreds of staff, the closure of the staff canteen, and the substitution of free lunches with fruit. The result of the cuts has been a 19m decrease in operating expenses for the first nine months of the year, to 525m. The saving was more than offset by the cost of sacking Amorim in January."

"The accounts show that the Portuguese and his back-room staff received a payoff of up to 16.7m, and there was an associated 5.2m non-cash impact of writing off costs relating to their contracts. The cost of removing managers continues to haunt the club, said Stefan Borson, a football finance expert who is head of sport at the law firm McCarthy Denning."

"Overall, rising revenue and falling costs delivered an improvement in profitability. United pointed to the club's operating performance, which strips out factors such as debt interest payments. On that basis, the club reported a 37.7m profit in the fir"

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