Van Gaal told he can spend again in January as Manchester United announce record turnover

The Dutchman spent big in the summer window,
acquiring the likes of Angel di Maria, Luke Shaw
and Radamel Falcao, but will be given the green
light to splash further cash
By Wayne Veysey
Louis van Gaal has been given the green light to
carry on spending as Manchester United
announce a record turnover of up to €535 million
and a profit of around €51m in their latest set of
financial results.
The accounts for the year ending June 2014 do
not take into account the club-record €75m
signing of Angel Di Maria or the late August
captures of Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and
Radamel Falcao on loan.
United's commercial deals, including a €66m-a-
year shirt sponsorship deal with Chevrolet that
started this summer and a 10-year kit agreement
with Adidas worth €93m-a-year that kicks in nex
year, mean the 20-times Premier League
champions are able to withstand the cost of a
season outside of Europe's elite.
Real Madrid announced last week that their
annual revenue has soared to €598m, the highes
mark for any club in the world. But even the
Spanish giants and fellow big-hitter Barcelona
cannot rival the fresh commercial deals in place
at Old Trafford.
United have spent in excess of €187m this
summer on new signings, including the British
record signing of Di Maria.
Sources have told Goal that United could have
even afforded to have spent €250m on transfers
and have the finances in place to buy a player to
the equivalent value of Di Maria every year for th
next decade.
Further spending is expected to take place in the
January market as Van Gaal is given further
licence to continue his radical overhaul of a
squad that failed so dismally under David Moyes
last season and has begun the current campaign
in equally uncertain fashion.
The annual results should also include details of
pay-offs to former manager Moyes and his
coaching team, but the figures will not reflect an
financial losses incurred from failing to qualify for
Europe for this season.
It is believed Moyes was given a €4.3m pay-off,
equivalent to a year's salary, and a similar sum
was handed to his backroom team of Phil Neville,
Steve Round, Jimmy Lumsden and Chris Woods.
United’s surprise drop from champions in
2012-13 to seventh-place last season saw the
club suffer a reduction of £8.4m in Premier
League prize money last season – a campaign
which Woodward described as "very
disappointing" when addressing investors
following the publication of quarterly accounts in
May.
The absence of Champions League football this
season is worth a minimum €31m, and probably
at least €12.5m more, meaning the Moyes regim
cost the club in the region of €62.2m compared
to the heights usually reached under Sir Alex
Ferguson.

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.

Boko Haram: Government cautions against used cell phones

Abuja - The Federal Government on Tuesday
cautioned Nigerians against buying used cell
phones and pre-registered SIM cards, saying that
they might have been used by terrorists for
untoward activities.
Mike Omeri, the Coordinator, National Information
Centre, issued the warning while giving update on
the security situation in the North East.
"This caution becomes necessary to save
members of the public the embarrassment of
being apprehended for criminal activities
committed with the phones and SIM card found in
their possession.
"Accordingly, the public is strongly advised to
report cases of stolen phones and SIMs to the
police, and refrain from buying second hand
phones and SIM cards from unknown sources’’,
he said.
Omeri said the recent recapture of Bama from the
insurgents by troops was an attestation that the
military had might to defend and safeguard the
nation’s territorial integrity.
He said the troops were intensifying efforts to
dislodge the Boko Haram terrorists from Gulak
and Baza in Madagali and Michika Local
Government Areas of Adamawa.
The coordinator said this was in spite of the odds
that had confronted their operations in those
areas, and urged the people to support the
military with useful information.

Gambian leader set to sign anti-gay law

Banjul - Gambia's national assembly has
passed a bill to introduce the crime of
aggravated homosexuality into the criminal
code and make it punishable by life
imprisonment in some cases, according to a
copy of the bill seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The bill defines aggravated homosexuality as
cases such as a person having homosexual
relations with someone under the age of 18, or
a person with HIV having homosexual relations.
President Yahya Jammeh is yet to sign into law
the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 2014,
which was passed by parliament on 25 August.
Homosexuality remains taboo in many socially
conservative African societies where some
religious groups have branded it a corrupting
import from the West.
"A person who commits the offence of
aggravated homosexuality is liable on
conviction to imprisonment [for] life," said one
section of the bill.
On the day the bill passed, Justice Minister
Mama Fatima Singhateh was removed from
office, though no reason was given for the
decision.
Some of the fiercest African debate over the
issue of homosexuality has come in Uganda,
where President Yoweri Museveni wants to re-
issue an anti-gay law rejected by a court, but
without tough penalties for consenting adults, a
ruling-party lawmaker said in August.
The original version of the law passed in
February punished gay sex with long prison
terms and alarmed Western donors, some of
whom withheld aid in protest. Uganda's
constitutional court overturned it on a
technicality in August.

20 policemen Still Missing After Boko Haram Attack

Abuja - Twentypolice officers are still missing
three weeks after Boko Haram fighters attacked a
training academy outside the remote north-
eastern town of Gwoza, the country's police chief
said on Tuesday.
Inspector General Suleiman Abba told reporters
that police would "not relent in the efforts of
tracing them".
Initially, police said 35 officers were missing after
the attack on 21 August. Abba said some had
since returned, without explaining how.
"We have been able to trace some of the officers
who have reported back to their bases. Some
have even reported back to their families," he
said.
Boko Haram Islamists attacked the police
academy near Gwoza in Borno state two weeks
after they seized the town and declared it part of
an Islamic caliphate they are seeking to establish.
Also Read: People flee advancing Boko Haram
fighters
They went on to capture Bama, 50km to the north
on 1 September, killing scores of people.
The government, which has faced criticism for its
failure to effectively confront the militants, said
on Tuesday it was fighting back successfully.
"Only this morning it was reported that the
military is in total and firm control of Bama,"
government spokesperson Mike Omeri told
reporters.
"Consistent effort is ongoing to ensure that firm
control is taken of areas that are being challenged
by insurgent actions."
Boko Haram is blamed for more than 10 000
deaths since 2009 and has repeatedly targeted
the police and military.
It is believed to be in control of large swathes of
Borno, its historic stronghold, as well as towns
and villages in neighbouring Adamawa and Yobe.
The three states have been under emergency rule
since May last year.