Ole’s appointment: Man Utd make £500k goodwill payment to Molde

The payment is the second to Molde, following one made upon Solskjaer’s arrival in December

Manchester United made a goodwill payment of approximately £500,000 to Molde this month after hiring Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their new permanent manager.

Solskjaer signed a three-year deal worth around £7million-a-year to take over at Old Trafford on a full-time basis on Thursday.

The Norwegian’s contract with former club Molde ended upon him becoming United’s caretaker manager in December, with United paying an initial sum – understood to be around £500k – to employ him temporarily.

The club have now followed that up with a second payment of around £500k as a gesture of their gratitude to Molde and may yet establish a relationship with the Eliteserien side.

Solskjaer only signed his previous contract with Molde on 3 December, weeks before succeeding Jose Mourinho as caretaker of United.

The total £1million payment is significantly lower than the amount of compensation Tottenham Hotspur would have demanded from United in order to appoint Mauricio Pochettino, Solskjaer’s main rival for the role.

Pochettino was the favourite to become United’s next permanent manager following Mourinho’s dismissal, but Solskjaer’s record of 14 wins from his 19 games in charge turned heads among the Old Trafford hierarchy.

Solskjaer’s backroom staff are yet to sign contracts with United but are expected to remain in place under the Norwegian at Old Trafford.

Mike Phelan, Solskjaer’s assistant, remains employed by A-League side Central Coast Mariners as a sporting director despite spending the past three months working in Manchester.