Axed Man Utd director Dan Ashworth ‘frogmarched out of Old Trafford’ by alternative exit hours before contract ripped up

DAN ASHWORTH was reportedly "frogmarched" out of a hidden Old Trafford exit after agreeing to leave Manchester United.

The sporting director's time at the club has come to an end after just five months.

1

United pushed hard to add him to their boardroom in the summer, paying Newcastle £3million in compensation.

But following crunch talks with CEO Omar Berrada after the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest last night, Ashworth quit by "mutual consent", according to a United statement.

claim he was seen looking "grim-faced" as he trudged across the press room yesterday.

He was "escorted" out an "alternative exit" by a member of security and United's chief operating officer Collette Roche.

READ MORE ON MAN UTD

DAN & OUT

Man Utd chief Ashworth in shock exit after just 5 months following showdown talks

TOP GEAR

Win a Volkswagen Amarok+ £2k cash or huge £55,000 from just 25p with our discount

Ashworth was did not leave through the usual directors' entrance or Stretford End tunnel.

Journalist Samuel Luckhurst wrote on social media: "In retrospect, perhaps he was frogmarched out."

Ashworth and other senior club figures are responsible for handing Erik ten Hag a new contract, only to sack him 14 games later.

And they were in charge of the summer transfer business that saw them spend £200m on Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui.

Most read in Football

MIRACLE ESCAPE

Michail Antonio's first words after horror car crash revealed by dog walker

GOT A GOOD PHEL

Rooney brings in his old Man Utd boss as assistant manager at Plymouth

TOT 3 CHE 4

Blues fight back from TWO DOWN to seal incredible win as Palmer scores Panenka

STAR OUT

How long Michail Antonio could be out of action for revealed after horror crash

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

The 53-year-old chief claimed he "liked" the squad earlier this season.

But SunSport exclusively revealed last month that the summer spending spree and Ten Hag's failure caused a blame game to begin in the boardroom.

Crystal Palace chief Dougie Freedman is favourite to replace Ashworth, having been linked with the job before.