Manchester United part ways with head coach Marc Skinner
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Manchester United's Women's team head coach Marc Skinner has left the club by mutual consent after five years in charge, with a dispute over transfer strategy at the heart of his departure. Skinner, 43, is understood to have initiated the exit talks himself, having grown increasingly frustrated at seeing rival Women's Super League clubs consistently outspend United, while the club instead wants to prioritise developing homegrown academy talent over competing in bidding wars.
Under Skinner, who joined from Orlando Pride in 2021, United reached three consecutive FA Cup finals between 2023 and 2025, winning the 2024 final 4-0 to secure the club's first major women's trophy, and also reached this season's League Cup final and the Champions League quarter-finals. League form was less consistent, with finishes of fourth, second, fifth, third and fourth across his five seasons. Concerns over ambition have been sharpened by United's club-record £850,000 sale of striker Melvine Malard to Chelsea, contrasting with big-spending rivals London City Lionesses, who face United on the opening day of the new season on 4 September. United say they have a shortlist of candidates and expect to appoint a successor quickly.
- Marc Skinner leaves Manchester United Women by mutual consent after five years
- Departure follows clashes over transfer spending and club strategy
- Won 2024 FA Cup; United now prioritising homegrown talent over big signings
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Manchester United Women play in the Women's Super League, England's top division, and the club has been building its women's side towards the success long enjoyed by the men's team. Marc Skinner had been head coach since July 2021, taking over from Casey Stoney, and was one of the more established managers in the league by the time of his departure.
Under Skinner, United reached the top three of the WSL twice and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history, in 2023. His standout achievement came in 2024, when United won the FA Cup by beating Tottenham at Wembley, the club's only major trophy in the women's game to date.
More recently, results had dipped: United finished fourth in the WSL last season and missed out on European qualification again, while also losing this year's League Cup final to Chelsea and exiting the Champions League to Bayern Munich. That decline in form provides the context for his exit, with the club yet to name a replacement.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Manchester United Women head coach Marc Skinner leaves role after five years”.