So, after arriving in the summer to much controversy, Rafa Benitez's time at Everton has come to an end.
Defeat at relegation-threatened Norwich City at the weekend was to prove the final straw, and little over six months into a three-year deal, the former Liverpool, Newcastle United and Real Madrid manager will leave Goodison Park with little to show for it on the footballing side, but likely with a handsome severance package.
Benitez was understood to be earning around £7m per season at Everton, and paying off two-and-a-half years of that deal could cost as much as £17.5m, but a conservative estimate would place it at around £14m.
It is the latest in a succession of failed managerial appointments under the ownership of Farhad Moshiri, who while having been willing to spend in pursuit of success since taking over at the club in early 2016, has been unable to implement a successful football strategy at the Blues.
A club whose heavy spending on trying to improve matters on the pitch has seen them have to introduce some austerity this season in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations, looks like pushing close to the £50m mark when it comes to having to pay off managers who have failed to deliver.
Roberto Martinez was the first to get the chop under Moshiri in 2016, a few short months after the new owner arrived.
With three years left of a five-year deal his package was understood to have been worth around £11m to the Spaniard, who has been linked with a return to the Goodison Park hot seat following the departure of Benitez.
Then there was the firing of Ronald Koeman, who lasted little over a year before having his contract with the club terminated with two years remaining.
That deal was worth around £6m to the Dutchman, but instead of having a lump sum pay out, Everton were to make up the shortfall in Koeman's wages when he took on a new job, something that would prove controversial during his time with as boss of the Netherlands.
The Dutch national team were understood to be paying him just 10 per cent of the salary he was earning at Everton, leaving the Toffees liable to pick up the tab for the rest of it, meaning Everton would have had to pay for just under £11m of his salary until the time came where his original Everton deal would have expired.
Sam Allardyce's seven months in charge from November 2017 to May 2018, having signed a contract to the summer of 2019, would see him entitled to around £6m after his sacking. And his successor, Marco Silva, was shown in the club's audited accounts for 2019/20 to have cost £6.6m in severance pay after he left the club after around 18 months at the helm.
Carlo Ancelotti came next, the Italian arriving with a reputation as one of modern football's greatest managers, with a CV that backed up such claims.
His appointment was heralded as a new dawn for Everton, one where they demonstrated that they were truly serious about challenging the established elite in the Premier League.
But despite some high points, and the arrival of a number of high-profile and costly additions, Ancelotti could only lead Everton as high as 12th. But the assumption was that he would be around to lead Everton into their planned new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, but last year he answered the clarion call to re-join Real Madrid in what was a blow to the Blues. T
heir compensation for his departure from the Spanish giants was reported to be around £4m.
And now Ancelotti's successor, Benitez, has left the club too. Another big cheque that needs to be written for a club that has regressed on the pitch in recent seasons despite heavy investment.
The club will have spent as much as £48.6m on paying off managers by the time Benitez's compensation package is agreed. That is a figure that is higher than what Manchester United have spent in axing managers since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013 to be replaced by then Everton boss David Moyes, who was in turn replaced by Martinez.
And with Martinez among the contenders to take over again with the bookies, Everton could find themselves back at square one after all that money spent.
