Manchester United are looking to offload several players this summer and it will free up tens of millions in wages.
The summer rebuild was kicked off with the £62.5m arrival of Matheus Cunha at the start of the month, and newly-appointed sporting director Jason Wilcox is working hard behind the scenes to bring in further signings.
But United have a limited budget this summer and will have to rely heavily on sales. So far, it has proven difficult to offload unwanted players.
Jadon Sancho’s move to Chelsea collapsed after he was unwilling to accept a salary cut to join the Chelsea side.
Meanwhile, Real Betis want to sign Antony and Marcus Rashford dreams of a move to Barcelona but their £40 million price tags are yet to be met.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in action for Manchester United.
Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Man United triple sale will cut £43m wages
Ideally, Ineos want to complete a triple sale this summer by finding new clubs for Sancho, Rashford and Antony.
Not only should their sales immediately bring in close to £100 million to boost the transfer budget, but it will also clear their huge salaries off the wage bill.
United’s wage bill was £364.7m in 2023/24, but with no European football and sales expected this summer, that figure should continue to drop.
Graph showing Manchester United's wage bill from 2004-05 to 2023-24, plotted against their revenue over the same period
Manchester United revenue vs wage bill Credit: Adam Williams/United in Focus/GRV Media
More United News
Currently, Rashford earns £300,000 per week while Sancho is earning £325,000 per week and Antony’s weekly salary is £200,000.
Combined, the three players are earning a salary of £43 million per year, which will be saved if they all complete permanent exits this summer.
Ineos ideally want to complete permanent deals, but once again United might have to agree loan exits with clubs covering the majority of their wages.
Ruben Amorim worked with small Man United wage bill
A 15th-place finish in the Premier League and a trophyless season is never good enough for Manchester United, but co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe added some important financial context.
Earlier this year, Ratcliffe praised Amorim for working on a small budget and pointed out that the players actually available to him made up a wage bill comparable to the likes of Everton and Nottingham Forest, rather than giants like Manchester City or Liverpool.
That is because the likes of Rashford, Sancho and Antony were all unavailable after leaving on loan. Many of United’s top earners weren’t even at the club last season.
READ MORE:Man United were offered Premier League winner but Ineos rightly walked away from £425k wages
Amorim will hope that is not the case next season. Ideally Ineos can shift all three players and reinvest their salaries elsewhere.
Cunha is earning £200,000 per week on his new United contract, while United are willing to pay Mbeumo £250,000 per week if he chooses to make a move to Old Trafford.