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United paid $8m to ditch Moyes

Manchester - Manchester United spent more than $8 million to pay off David Moyes and his coaching staff, the club said on Wednesday.

The 20-time English champions also said revenue was expected to drop by about $80 million because of the club's failure to qualify for a European competition.

Moyes lost his job 10 months after succeeding Alex Ferguson. United ended up in seventh place one year after winning the Premier League title.

In its annual financial results, United highlighted a cost of $8.4 million "primarily related to compensation payments on loss of office to the former manager and certain members of the coaching staff."

Louis van Gaal replaced Moyes, but has failed to win in his first four matches, including an embarrassing League Cup loss at third-tier club MK Dons.

United, which is owned by the Glazer family and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, remains a commercial juggernaut, with 2013/14 revenue up 19 percent to a club record $699 million. But United forecast revenue in 2014/15 to drop by 10 percent to as low as $619 million due in part to the lack of UEFA income.

United has been reinvesting its sponsorship revenue, which soared by 50 percent to $219 million in the year to June 30, by bringing in new players. The accounts show $127 million spent on players, including the signing of Juan Mata in January for then $61 million. The wage bill rose by almost 20 percent to $345 million.

Since the end of the financial year, United has spent about $250 million, including a British record fee of $99 million to sign Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid.

"With Louis van Gaal at the helm as manager, and the recent signing of some of the world's leading players to further strengthen our squad, we are very excited about the future and believe it's the start of a new chapter in the club's history," United vice chairman Ed Woodward said in a statement.

Van Gaal, who won titles with Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, took his first job in English football after leading the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the World Cup.

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