Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been left very embarrassed after taking Dan Ashworth from Newcastle United.
Dan Ashworth left Manchester United in December, after they invested so much time and energy in poaching him away from Newcastle United.
The Red Devils decided to get rid less than a year after Dan Ashworth’s arrival at the club, and it has now been confirmed how much the entire ordeal cost them.
How much it cost Manchester United to sack Dan Ashworth
Manchester United have released their latest set of accounts, which state that the Ashworth saga cost them £4.1million. That includes the amount that was paid to Newcastle United, plus the compensation that the sporting director received when he left Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe has wasted an incredible amount of money, at a time when he is trying to cut costs at the club whilst calling on government funding to build a new stadium.
It is a staggering and laughable situation.
What Sir Jim Ratcliffe said about Newcastle United in February 2024
It is even more staggering and laughable when you look back at what Ratcliffe said about Newcastle United in February 2024.
At the time, Newcastle wanted £20million compensation for Ashworth. And if they did not get it, he would remain on gardening leave.
It was a huge amount of money to demand, and it summed up how infuriated the Magpies were by Man United’s ‘approach’.
Almost one year ago to the day, Ratcliffe was asked what he thought about Newcastle’s compensation demands.
“A bit silly, personally,” he said.
“I won’t get dragged into that. What I do think is completely absurd is suggesting a man who is really good at his job sits in his garden for one and a half years. We had a very grown-up conversation with City about Omar Berrada. When things got done, we sorted it out very amicably. They could see why he wanted to take that challenge.”
Newcastle United have the last laugh over Ratcliffe and Manchester United
Ratcliffe’s arrogance reeked. There was almost an expectation that Newcastle United would just roll over and give him what he wanted.
But the ironic thing is that Ashworth was not right for the Man United job, which ultimately resulted in him being dismissed much earlier than anticipated.
All the while, Newcastle have got a new sporting director who is better suited to what the Magpies need right now.
Ashworth is a club builder, while Paul Mitchell is a recruitment guru. In the world of PSR, Newcastle need to be better at buying and selling players, which is where Mitchell excels.
The Ashworth situation proved to be a complete waste of time, and one that has cost Man United £4.1million.
Newcastle United continue to have the last laugh, and I wonder if the Magpies will ever receive an apology from Ratcliffe for the ridiculous way that he conducted himself.
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