Sir Jim Ratcliffe confronted with fresh Man Utd setback as £158m problem emerges
Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be forced to watch Manchester United pay out £158million in transfer add-on fees this summer.
The Ineos chief has just come on board and already made some shrewd off the pitch captures ahead of the summer, when he'll really get his first chance to make an impact on the Red Devils. Unfortunately for him though, he could see a major dent in the club's accounts.
Recruitment will be a major part of his remit but the billionaire will have to honour fees that were already dictated by previous decisions. Mason Mount, for example, was signed last summer with potential add-ons, and he isn't the only player in the squad with those terms.
As a result Ratcliffe could well see his transfer budget eaten into as United pay out on guarantees they made. The £158m is a hike of almost £55m from the previous season.
The Times has reported a line in United's accounts, which read: “Under the terms of certain contracts with other football clubs and agents in respect of player transfers, additional amounts, in excess of the amounts included in the cost of registrations, would be payable by the Group if certain substantive performance conditions are met . . . The maximum additional amounts that could be payable is £158,040,000.”
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As well as players, off the pitch members of staff have received handy pay-offs. Richard Arnold has recently stood down as the club's chief executive and was given a pay off of £5.5m once he formally resigned his position on February 15. That is in addition to his salary of £2.56m - which already made him one of the highest paid people in his role in the Premier League.
United last summer were already operating with serious financial parameters as Erik ten Hag fought to remain within the guidelines that every club must abide by. That ultimately influenced his recruitment, as it had done the previous year.
Mason Mount was signed last summer with the possibility of add-ons (Michael Steele/Getty Images)The Dutchman, whose own future beyond this season is unclear, had to drive down the price of players like Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund to ensure he could fill gaps in his squad whilst sticking to the budget he was given.
In his first year, after spending big in the summer on the likes of Antony and Casemiro, Ten Hag had to utilise the loan market in January due to having a lack of funds available. He signed the likes of Wout Weghorst as United sought a temporary replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.
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