Lopetegui compensation revealed as contract ‘intricacies’ shared at West Ham
West Ham United would have to pay Julen Lopetegui a sum in the region of £5million for sacking him, according to Kieran Maguire.
The Irons relieved the Spanish tactician of his duties on 8 January despite only appointing him as David Moyes’ successor six months ago, meaning they have to pay him compensation.
Maguire, though, added that Lopetegui is legally obliged to find a new job in the time being, which could, in turn, bring the sum down for the East London outfit.
“It looks like it’ll be somewhere in the region of £5m to give severance to Lopetegui”, Maguire said on the Price of Football podcast (16 January).
“Again, we don’t see the intricacies of the contract and we have had sports lawyers and sports employment lawyers on the show before and they say, in theory, that’s what the manager could get, but the manager does have a legal obligation to try to find employment.
“And, that could reduce the overall value of the payment.”
David Sullivan forced to sack Julen Lopetegui at West Ham
It is no secret that David Sullivan, who appointed Lopetegui against Tim Steidten and Mark Noble‘s wishes [talkSPORT], is not a fan of changing managers midway through the season.
He took a similar stance with Lopetegui and that is why the former Wolves manager survived in the job as long as he did as his job was under threat for weeks.
It would not be a surprise if the West Ham chairman did everything he could to avoid sacking the 58-year-old and, in turn, paying him a severance fee.
In the end, even Sullivan was left with no option but to pull the plug on Lopetegui as the Hammers found themselves 14th in the Premier League after a 4-1 loss against Manchester City on 4 January.
Nevertheless, West Ham will be hopeful that the decision to sack Lopetegui pays off, with Potter now tasked with taking the club further up the ladder.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are keen on an Arsenal player who is eager to quit the Gunners.
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