Should Manchester United hope to replace Michael Carrick as manager with Eddie Howe, it will reportedly cost the listing behemoth a minimum of $4 million (£3 million) just to extract the former Newcastle United boss from the terms of his agreement on Tyneside.

Yet, this may be a case of ego as much as economics.

United have briefed the media, rather than released any public statement, that Carrick will retain his position until Saturday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea. What lies beyond remains unclear while the reasoning for this U-turn is similarly murky.

One of the most compelling justifications for Carrick’s stay of execution is cold hard finances. Howe is billed as one of the frontrunners for the ever-changing Old Trafford dugout and could conceivably start immediately after parting ways with Newcastle over the summer. However, the nature of that exit came with the promise of compensation to the tune of around $4 million, The Guardian first revealed.

Beyond that one-off fee, United would also have to consider the salary demands of the English coach and his long-serving assistant Jason Tindall, which The Athletic describe as “not insignificant in the eyes of United.”

Carrick would also have to be compensated—although United at least managed to brace themselves for that eventuality by handing the former interim a two-year contract rather than the typical three-year deals his predecessors received.

Stacking up all those costs would still likely come to less than eight digits. In the swollen financial landscape of modern soccer, that is not an overwhelming sum of money. For comparison, 285 players moved for more than $10 million (£7.5 million) in the summer transfer window. Yet, such is the current financial—and reputational—state of United’s owners, these figures are considered “not insignificant.”

Why Man Utd Are Wary of Paying Relatively Minimal Fee

The economic reality of the club is a factor which can’t be overlooked. Back in March 2025, minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe threatened that “the club runs out of money at Christmas” had he not implemented severe cost cuts across the board. Hundreds of non-playing staff were let go while those that survived the cull had most of the perks of the job whisked away.

United triumphantly announced record revenues in excess of $900 million last month, with an operating profit of $30 million despite no participation in European competition. However, hanging over every financial decision is the reality of the club’s crippling debt.

Malcolm Glazer oversaw a leveraged buyout of Manchester United in 2005, borrowing money against the club which immediately piled it in debt and created a vicious cycle of financing the interest payments on these loans. In 2025–26 alone, the club spent $92.5 million, taking their total expenditure to more than $1.3 billion in the last two decades.

Chief executive Omar Berrada boasted about “the underlying strength of our business” when pointing toward the record revenues before promptly adding: “We will continue to take a disciplined approach to ensure our finances remain sustainable.”

That discipline has taken the form of restrained spending in recent transfer windows and, it would appear, a newfound parsimony when it comes to coaches. That hasn’t always been the case.

How Much INEOS Have Spent on Hiring, Firing Man Utd Managers

• Fire Erik ten Hag: $13.8 million (£10.4 million)
• Hire Ruben Amorim: $14.6 million £11 million)
• Fire Amorim: Up to $10.6 million (£8 million)
• Total: $39 million

Since Ratcliffe’s INEOS barrelled into the club in 2024, they have overseen a calamitous track record of managerial recruitment. Erik ten Hag was handed a contract extension a matter of months before he was sacked at great expense. The total cost of hiring and then firing Ruben Amorim was even more eye-watering, with the entire endeavor setting United back $39 million. That doesn’t even include the $5.5 million spent on sacking former sporting director Dan Ashworth, who was reportedly against Amorim’s arrival in the first place.

After such an embarrassing, and costly series of managerial mishaps, it would be understandable if United’s powerbrokers may want to avoid another setback.

Yet, they may be doing nothing more than delaying the inevitable.