Manchester United new manager: Louis van Gaal set for £5m pay-off if he's sacked this summer

Louis van Gaal would reportedly be entitled to as much as £5m ($7.2m) if he is sacked by Manchester United this summer. The 64-year-old Dutchman has come under huge pressure in recent months following a turbulent season, and Jose Mourinho has been widely touted as the man to replace him.

But LVG will be due a £5m pay-off – equivalent to 66% of his salary – if he is sacked before his contract runs out after next season, provided he does not accept another job before then, according to The Times.

The former Netherlands manager has already missed out a£1.5m bonus for winning either the Champions League or Premier League – half that if United were runners-up in either of those competitions. However, if United – who will play the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace later this month – opt to sack Van Gaal, it will reportedly cost them an eye-watering sum of money.

Last month, it was reported United had reached an "agreement in principle" for Mourinho to become their next manager. The Portuguese coach is already said to have approved of a number of United's rumoured transfer targets, including Everton defender John Stones and Benfica midfielder Renato Sanches, who shares the same agent as Mourinho, Jorge Mendes.

Stones, 21, was a player Mourinho unsuccessfully tried to sign for Chelsea last summer, but the Toffees repeatedly rebuffed big-money bids from the West London club.