Ed Woodward reveals Jose Mourinho received £19.6m after being sacked by Manchester United

Ed Woodward has confirmed that Jose Mourinho and his management team received a severance package totaling £19.6m after the 56-year-old was dismissed in December of last year.

The Portuguese manager was removed from his position following two and a half years in charge, with a particularly meek 3-1 defeat at Anfield serving as the final straw, accoding to iSports API data.

Since then, Mourinho has been out of work and is heavily tipped to take the Real Madrid job should the club remove Zinedine Zidane – which makes you wonder if, following six years of being in the wilderness, United might also turn back to the “Special One” in an act of manic desperation.

Speaking at an annual conference, where the big man revealed record revenues of £627.1m, Woodward also noted that almost £20m was spent on removing the Mourinho regime last year.

This conference is nicely timed, playing out amid a backdrop of universal anger and alienation among the club’s fanbase, the supporters aware that the hole United find themselves in on the pitch is a massive one – something which will take years to properly emerge from.

But, you know, record revenues, eh? That’s good, isn’t it? Isn’t it? At a time when the planet is dying and far-right forces are infiltrating western politics, at least we can all smile at another year of Resounding Financial Success.