On Sunday, the shock news came from Manchester United. One of the “world’s best sporting directors”, whom Ratcliffe had called Dan Ashworth five months earlier, was done at Old Trafford. Now it has come to light what Manchester United actually paid Newcastle to rap their sporting director.
This summer, Manchester United burned £200 million on five players. Three of the players were signed on Ashworth’s watch, after he had been on “gardening leave” for several months while Newcastle and Manchester United argued over compensation.
READ: High time to give Zinedine Zidane his dream job
The signings of Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui have Ashworth’s signature behind them, Mazraoui is the only one who has had immediate success at Old Trafford.
So how much has the signing of Dan Ashworth cost Manchester United? The English media reported Newcastle demanded £20 million, this summer this amount was down to £10 million. The Times reports the actual compensation ended at around £5 million. In other words, significantly lower than expected.
Read on English clubs: Both Erik ten Hag and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were turned down for players they thought were essential for Manchester United
There is no word on whether Ashworth will be compensated out of the gate at Old Trafford. Three weeks before the transfer window opens in January, one of the world’s biggest clubs is without a sporting director. The responsibility now falls on Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox and Ruben Amorim.
Everything you need to know about Manchester United matches
