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Manchester United news: Club will have to pay Louis van Gaal £5m to sack him in the summer

Van Gaal will continue to be paid until the end of his contract next year

Jack de Menezes

Friday 06 May 2016 08:26 BST

Manchester United will have to pay Louis van Gaal £5m if they sack him in the summer (Getty)

Manchester United will have to pay manager Louis van Gaal £5m if they decide to sack him this summer after the details of the Dutchman’s contract at Old Trafford were revealed.

The Times obtained the financial details of Van Gaal’s contract, which has another year left to run after the end of this season, and revealed that he also stands to lose £1m in wages if United fail to secure a top-four finish this season.

It’s been widely reported that Jose Mourinho could take over if Van Gaal is dismissed in the summer given that the former Chelsea manager has his heart set on the job at Old Trafford, but Van Gaal could yet salvage his future with victory on the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace and a top-four finish to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The contract reveals that Van Gaal is currently paid £8m-a-year, although that figure is made up of a number of performance-based rewards and other clauses. The 64-year-old is guaranteed a £3.3m salary, with and additional £2m coming in loyalty payments, £1.6m for image rights and the remaining £1.1m a reward for ensuring United qualify for the Champions League – something Van Gaal achieved last season.

Should United face the axe this summer, United will continue to pay Van Gaal his salary, including both image and loyalty bonuses, unless he takes up another job before the expiration of his contract next summer.

Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Show all 10

1/10Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Michael Carrick

The Old Trafford career of Manchester United’s second longest-serving player is coming to an end. Last year’s decision to hand him a one-year extension was questionable, this year it would be unjustified. It’s time to call it a day.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

One of the quieter disappointments of Louis van Gaal’s tenure. Rojo has rarely, if ever, put in an above-average performance and cost his team too often. A tournament-inspired signing if ever there was one and likely to go out the door with his manager, who has also disappointed after an eye-catching World Cup.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Memphis Depay

His season has been, to put it in the kindest terms, ‘mercurial’. Brief, perhaps very brief, glimpses at his talent have been outweighed by truly anaemic, gutless performances. His youth should be enough to dissuade the club’s hierarchy from cashing in but Depay will need to show a serious volte-face in his second season to turn his Old Trafford fortunes around.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Juan Mata

In truth, if Jose Mourinho takes over at Old Trafford as expected, there may be little that the Spaniard can do to convince his new manager that he should be kept on. His fate, in that sense, may be sealed. Nevertheless, Mata can hardly claim to have fully established himself at Old Trafford and still has a number of doubters. A few weeks in his preferred no. 10 role could do him a world of good.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Marouane Fellaini

Quite easily the most unpopular man at Old Trafford on any given matchday and this season, that’s saying something. He wants to do well, that’s clear, but he simply does not have the requisite technical quality and tries to make up for it by elbowing people. His time’s up.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Paddy McNair

Alongside Tyler Blackett, McNair provides the stand-out argument against those who uncritically praise Van Gaal’s promotion of youth. Sadly he, nor Blackett, are good enough and should not have been relied upon so much at points during the Dutchman’s first season. In truth, both may have already made their last appearances for United.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson

Surprisingly, the young full-back still has not been tied down to a long-term contract, despite his impressive performances since breaking into the side. Talks are understood to have begun but Borthwick-Jackson’s contract expires in June and his future won’t be certain until the dotted line is signed.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Antonio Valencia

His brilliant 2011/12 campaign established him as a firm favourite among supporters but his surrender of the no. 7 shirt the year after marked him as a player who sometimes struggles with a weight of expectation on his shoulders. Ever since, he’s been a figure on the fringes and only on the odd occasions that he’s fit. Sell up before his contract expires next year.

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Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Adnan Januzaj

Packed off on loan to Borussia Dortmund, sent back early after starting just three times and just two substitute appearances since his return. It’s all a far cry from having three football associations fight over your international allegiance. Where Januzaj goes next is unclear but he acts a forewarning to the likes of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford – consistency, not just youthful exuberance, is needed to prosper at United.

Who is playing for their Man Utd future?

Andreas Pereira

The Belgian-born Brazilian has shown his talent at times but, like Januzaj, seems to be another academy product who’s stalling in the reserves while others prosper. He needs with a loan move to gain competitive minutes, perhaps on the continent, or he risks complete stagnation.

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United are currently fifth in the Premier League table, four points behind rivals Manchester City with a game in hand. With City taking on Arsenal this weekend, a defeat for the fallen Champions League semi-finalists would open the door for either United or West Ham to seize fourth place, given the two sides meet next Tuesday in what could prove to be a Champions League shootout.

There are additional clauses in Van Gaal’s contract that can increase his £8m salary, although he is yet to trigger any during his time with the club. Van Gaal would earn £400,000 for winning the Europa League or FA Cup – something he can achieve this season – while reaching the Europa League final would have brought in £200,000, though there is no bonus for reaching the FA Cup final.

Winning either the Premier League or Champions League would have seen Van Gaal rewarded with a £1.5m payments, while finishing second would see that figure halved.

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