José Mourinho, the Manchester United manager, has been fired after presiding over the soccer club’s worst start in 28 years.
That departure is also bad news for one of the luxury hotels near the club’s stadium, Old Trafford. Since he was appointed manager in May 2016, he has been living in the Lowry, a posh hotel in the Salford area.
He later explained that it was to be close to his assistants. ”If the fans want me to be comfortable, that’s the way I feel very comfortable,” Mourinho said. “Because I am very lazy and because I like to arrive in the hotel. I don’t want anyone to be worried because I live in a two square-meters room, I am living in an apartment inside of a hotel, where I have all the comfort, the support, where I have everything I want like I am living in a house.”
The Portuguese coach—whose family still lives in London—was reportedly staying in one of the six riverside suites, each with its own kitchen, living room, art by Alan Rankle, and views of the river Irwell at a starting price of £600 (currently $767) a night.
Mourinho left the hotel yesterday (Dec. 18) after being sacked, making it 895 nights in a row that he’s been staying there, which at that price would come to a bill of more than $600,000. But who paid for it? The Daily Mail reports that United “picked up the tab for his first few months,” after which the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager negotiated his own special rate. He also settled his room-service charges on a weekly basis.
Considering he will be paid £18 million in compensation for his United departure, his stay in Salford shouldn’t have been too much of a blow to his finances. The last time he was fired, in 2015, he and his assistants were paid £8.3 million by Chelsea.
The Mail reported that a lot of the staff at the Lowry were emotional to see him leave.