Manchester United will be forced to dispense with a fee in the region of £24m should they wish to sack under-fire boss Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese tactician has been under pressure at Old Trafford ever since the fractured pre-season that preceded his third season with the Red Devils.
Ignominious defeats to Brighton and Tottenham at the beginning of the campaign heightened the furore surrounding Mourinho, and two subsequent 3-1 defeats to rivals Manchester City and Liverpool have escalated this feeling.
The latter and more recent clash was particularly stark, with United coming second best to the Reds in practically every statistical measure, and their play was insipid throughout.