Revealed: The staggering amount Man United shelled out to sack Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth in costly divorces for under-fire Ineos

Manchester United paid a total of £14.5million to get rid of Erik ten Hag, his staff and sporting director Dan Ashworth, and have now spent more than £1bn on interest payments following the Glazer family’s leveraged buyout.

The latest financial figures from Old Trafford lay bare the cost of the decision to fire the Dutchman and the staggering levels of cash which have left United’s coffers to service the debt the Americans piled onto the club after they completed their highly-controversial takeover 20 years ago.

In a rare glimpse of promise, the numbers also reveal a profit of £3.1m for the quarter, which comes following wide-ranging cuts by co-owners Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, although for the same period last year that figure stood at £27.5m.

United sacked Ten Hag in October, just three months after extending his contract following their shock FA Cup final victory over rivals City. The figures reveal the club paid £10.4m to the Dutch boss and his staff, and a further £4.1m to Ashworth, who lasted just 159 days in his role before being axed by Ratcliffe.

The cost of what can only be seen as an error will raise eyebrows, given it comes at a time when Ineos are set to make further redundancies across departments.

Last year, Mail Sport revealed how the new investors, who have taken over operations at Old Trafford, planned to lay off 250 people. And last week we also reported how a further 100 to 200 redundancies are set to follow as the review – aimed at reducing a bloated workforce and freeing up funds for new manager Ruben Amorim to spend on his squad – continues.

Ashworth lasted just 159 days as the club’s sporting director before being dismissed

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have been criticised for a string of costly financial misfires

The Glazers, who retain a 69 per cent majority stake, plunged the club into debt after their buyout in 2005. The latest figures show that the debt still remains on the books and currently totals £516.5m.

United are expecting record revenues of between £650m and £670m for the year. They also forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which are used to measure a company’s performance, will be at the higher end of the previously predicted range of between £145m and £160m.

Omar Berrada, United CEO, said: ‘We recognise the challenges in improving our men’s team’s league position and we are all working hard, collectively, to achieve that. At the same time, we are pleased to have progressed to the knock-out phase of the UEFA Europa League and the 5th Round of the FA Cup. Meanwhile, our women’s team is currently placed second in the Women’s Super League, and has reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup.

‘Our redevelopment of the Carrington Training Complex remains on track. We continue to work towards a decision on the future of Old Trafford as part of a wider regeneration programme, which has now attracted UK Government support. This follows the work of the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force in demonstrating the significant economic potential of a revitalised area around a future stadium project.’

A spokesperson for the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust said: ‘United has amongst the highest revenues in world football and yet we see huge financial problems in these results, driven by £19m in debt interest payments (over six months), mismanagement including paying £14.5m compensation to a manager only given a new contract a few months earlier, a disastrous record in player trading over the last decade, and now dreadful performances on the field making matters worse with every league place we fall costing a further £4m in prize money.

‘In this context, it is clear that ticket prices at United are plainly not the problem with the recent £66 changes raising less than £2m. This shows big increases in prices would be futile and counterproductive, making only a trivial difference to the financial challenge whilst hugely harming fan sentiment and worsening the mood in the ground which inevitably feeds through to even worse team performances.

‘Fans should not pay the price for a problem that starts with our crippling debt interest payments and is exacerbated by a decade or more of mismanagement. It’s time to freeze ticket prices and allow everyone – players, management, owners and fans – to get behind United and restore this club to where it belongs.’