Over the last ten or so years, Manchester United has been run into the ground, and their transfer policy has, for the most part, been blatantly ineffective.

With Erik ten Hag’s arrival, this has become even more evident, since the majority of the team’s highest paid players were signed within the previous 18 months.

But now that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in charge, he wants to turn United into a title contender once more, and work on that has already started behind the scenes.


Having come from Manchester City, Omar Berrada will be responsible for ensuring that the players’ pay stays below the rumoured £300k per week.

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Having said that, let’s examine a player who, although falling into that category, has been a major financial burden for the team since his summer arrival.

Mason Mount’s Manchester United pay
Mason Mount blossomed at Chelsea, and it appeared that he would play his whole career there. However, Ten Hag expressed interest in bringing the midfield player to Old Trafford last summer, even though he only appeared in 13 games in 2023.

The 25-year-old paid about £60 million to join Manchester United, where he was also given the number seven shirt. John Murtough, the football director of United, said:

Mason is a phenomenal player in his own right, but his game intelligence and tactical awareness also allow him to elevate the players around him. His intense desire to play for United and his hunger for more success particularly struck us as we work to improve our performance for the upcoming season and beyond.

Premier League Manchester United Erik Ten Hag Mason Mount Christian Eriksen
In exchange for his efforts, Mount will get a gross base pay of £13.3 million every season till the end of his contract in June 2028. Consequently, the former Blues player still has an incredible £65 million in earnings remaining on his deal.

This indicates that he has already cost the team millions of pounds, as this amounts to an average of £250k each week without bonuses.

What Mount is paid in contrast to Garnacho
A player’s pay is meaningless if their on-field accomplishments justify their expenses, but Mount’s early start at Manchester has been disastrous due to injuries, missing 24 games already.

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This indicates that since joining the team, he has only appeared in eight Premier League games, with just half of those appearances being starts.

According to sportscaster Arlo White, the “invisible” player was obviously catching up since he failed to contribute to any goals throughout those games.

But when you contrast his weekly salary and stats with those of Alejandro Garnacho, for instance, you can see that Mount is clearly robbing United of all ground thus far.

Mount against Garnacho

Statistics (PL)

Mount

Garnacho

weekly wage

£250,000

£50,000

Lighters

8

24

Objectives

0

5.

Helps

0

3.

Large opportunities generated

0

5.

Pass keys

0.6

1.5

via Capology & Sofascore

This season, the Argentine has been one of United’s best players, outperforming him in every offensive metric while also dishing out three assists and five goals in the league. However, as you can see, Mount makes five times as much as the young player, demonstrating that at United, on-field success is not necessarily correlated with player salary.

United-Garnacho-Man-Overhead
In retrospect, it looks like a mistake to have signed Mount for such a hefty price and made him the joint-fourth highest salary after he had several injury setbacks during the season; the team is really suffering without him.

Who knows, though? The 5-foot-11 athlete still has plenty of time to reach his full potential and establish himself as a vital member of the Red Devils, but this will be his last season with the team.