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The amount Manchester United invested to recruit Dan Ashworth has been revealed, and it exceeds initial expectations.
Ashworth parted ways with United over the weekend following extensive negotiations with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team.
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A statement confirmed: “Dan Ashworth will be resigning from his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual consent.
“We thank Dan for his contributions and support during a pivotal time for the club and wish him well in his future pursuits.”
Ashworth joined the Red Devils in July after completing a gardening leave period.
He was placed on leave by previous club Newcastle earlier this year after he expressed a desire to pursue new opportunities.
Manchester United had to pay compensation to the Magpies to finalize Ashworth’s hiring.
Initial reports estimated the fee to be around £3 million.
However, according to The Times, the actual figure was closer to £5 million – roughly £1 million for each month he was with the club.
Upon his arrival at Old Trafford, Ashworth was tasked with overseeing performance, recruitment, and operations.
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He played a crucial role in the club’s £183 million spending spree during the summer, which featured signings like Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, and Noussair Mazraoui.
However, a breakdown in relations with certain board members at Manchester United led to an early conclusion of his term.
Ruben Amorim reacts to Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat against Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford
SunSport reported exclusively last month that United’s new management team were engaged in a blame game regarding their summer activities.
It has been suggested that tensions had been mounting between Ashworth and his colleagues in the weeks preceding his departure.
Technical director Jason Wilcox will temporarily take over his duties while a suitable successor is found.
Inside Manchester United chaos amid Ashworth’s departure
THE blame game has taken another victim as conditions worsen at Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s first-ever sporting director, Dan Ashworth, joined the club during the summer but has already left before Christmas.
SunSport initially reported last month that troubles were brewing.
The new senior management team had started shifting blame onto one another regarding the club’s troubling state.
Chief executive Omar Berrada and Ashworth were trying to clear their names, suggesting they had arrived too late after their gardening leave.
New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe assigned full responsibility for decision-making to them. Meanwhile, Jason Wilcox believed that much of the chaos arose from the tenure of former manager Erik ten Hag, yet he was part of the group that supported his continuation when other options declined.
There are indications that Ashworth opposed the move to appoint his successor and new head coach Ruben Amorim, preferring an English manager with greater experience in the domestic arena. This might explain why the name of former England manager Gareth Southgate frequently arose following their joint time at the FA.
Ultimately, Saturday’s performance against Nottingham Forest, along with a disappointing second-half collapse against Arsenal shortly before, proved too heavy a burden to bear.
