Man U spent $8 million paying off Moyes

Manchester — Manchester United spent more than
$8 million to pay off David Moyes and his
coaching staff, the club said Wednesday.
The 20-time English champions also said revenue
was expected to drop by about $80 million
because of the club's failure to qualify for a
European competition.
Moyes lost his job 10 months after succeeding
Alex Ferguson. United ended up in seventh place
one year after winning the Premier League title.
In its annual financial results, United highlighted a
cost of 5.2 million pounds ($8.4 million)
"primarily related to compensation payments on
loss of office to the former manager and certain
members of the coaching staff."
Louis van Gaal replaced Moyes, but has failed to
win in his first four matches, including an
embarrassing League Cup loss at third-tier club
MK Dons.
United, which is owned by the Glazer family and
listed on the New York Stock Exchange, remains a
commercial juggernaut, with 2013-14 revenue up
19 percent to a club record 433.2 million pounds
($699 million). But United forecast revenue in
2014-15 to drop by 10 percent to as low as 385
million pounds ($619 million) due in part to the
lack of UEFA income.
United has been reinvesting its sponsorship
revenue, which soared by 50 percent to 135.8
million pounds ($219 million) in the year to June
30, by bringing in new players. The accounts
show 78.9 million pounds ($127 million) spent on
players, including the signing of Juan Mata in
January for 37.1 million pounds (then $61
million). The wage bill rose by almost 20 percent
to 214.8 million pounds ($345 million).
Since the end of the financial year, United has
spent about $250 million, including a British
record fee of 59.7 million pounds ($99 million) to
sign Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria from
Real Madrid.
"With Louis van Gaal at the helm as manager, and
the recent signing of some of the world's leading
players to further strengthen our squad, we are
very excited about the future and believe it's the
start of a new chapter in the club's history,"
United vice chairman Ed Woodward said in a
statement.
Van Gaal, who won titles with Ajax, Barcelona and
Bayern Munich, took his first job in English
football after leading the Netherlands to a third-
place finish at the World Cup.