How much it will cost Man United to sack Erik ten Hag, it reflects poorly on Ineos

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Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United is hanging by a thread after the defeat to Tottenham.

The Red Devils put on an awful display during Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Spurs. It was so bad that it has been described as the worst performance in 35 years.

It adds to a hugely disappointing start to the season in which Manchester United have only won three of their opening eight games across all competitions.

It has piled huge pressure onto Erik ten Hag as manager, who frankly is only still in the job because of the FA Cup win over Manchester City last season.

Ineos interviewed Thomas Tuchel and several other managerial candidates over the summer as they weighed up replacing Ten Hag, but they eventually handed the Dutchman a one-year contract extension.

However, after a terrible start to the season, patience is already running thin.

READ MORE: Eight most likely Erik ten Hag replacements at Manchester United

Finance expert reveals cost of sacking Erik ten Hag

Ineos chose not to sack Ten Hag in the summer, but instead hand him a contract extension – that could prove to be a costly mistake by United’s ownership.

Football finance expert Adam Williams revealed to United in Focus the cost that comes with sacking Ten Hag if Ineos were to pull the trigger.

“There are various reports suggesting how much Ten Hag earns,” Williams said.

“It appears that his base salary was about £9m per year but with a 25 per cent cut if United failed to qualify for the Champions League.

“They didn’t make it anywhere near the top four in 2023-24, so we can deduce that his salary is about £6.75m per year this season.

“Ratcliffe and Ineos made Ten Hag interview to keep his old job last summer before triggering the one-year extension that commits him to the club until 2026.

“Apart from being a bit of a bizarre strategic move, it also means that they will have to pay around £13.5m if they relieve him of his duties today – at least that is what the headline figures suggest.

“That is compared to £6.75m if it had been over the summer, before they triggered the extension.

“It’s worth noting that United appear to only just have got within the PSR threshold for the three-year monitoring period up to 30th June 2024.

“Paying out £6.75m on top of that might have tipped them over the edge, but there would have been nothing stopping them from doing it on 1 May.

“The only other thing to consider is whether there is a clause in his deal that would offset some of the extra cost that his signing a new deal generates.

“United aren’t obliged to give details of their contracts, but we will see how much it might cost in their next set of annual accounts if indeed they do decide to pull the trigger.”

Man United stance on sacking Erik ten Hag

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stance on sacking Ten Hag has not changed despite the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, but this week’s away games to Porto and Aston Villa will be crucial.

If Ten Hag fails to deliver wins and good performances, he will likely be given his marching orders by Ineos.

Now in his third year as manager, Ten Hag is still yet to implement a clear style of play or identity within the team.

There had been signs of promise earlier this season, but that was all undone with a terrible performance against Tottenham.

However, it doesn’t reflect well on Ineos that they could have dismissed Ten Hag for half the price if they made their minds up in the summer.

Sticking with the Dutchman has proven to be a costly error, and it would represent the first major mishap by Ineos since taking charge at Old Trafford.