GRV Media’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content, Adam Williams, told TBR Football that Manchester United missed the chance to sign a top superstar this summer due to wages.
Man United splashed £232.4million in the transfer window on a range of players as Sir Jim Ratcliffe looked to financially back Ruben Amorim, bringing in players to suit his formation.
Man United signed Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Bryan Mbuemo, but their goalkeeper was a concern.
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Amorim dropped Andre Onana at the start of the season, which left the Premier League giants scrambling to find a replacement for the new season.
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe watches a Premier League match at Old Trafford
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man United could have financed a deal for Gianluigi Donnarumma
TBR Football previously revealed that Man United were interested in Gianluigi Donnarumma, but a deal for the Italian goalkeeper never materialised.
Instead, Donnarumma joined Manchester City, opting to play for United’s noisy neighbours, but the Red Devils could have signed the talented shot-stopper from a financial perspective.
The Head of Football Finance and Governance Content for GRV Media reveals: “Mad as it might sound given the figures we hear about, Premier League wages are often understated in the reports we read.
“At United, for instance, Bruno Fernandes is reported to earn £300,000 per week, but that is likely to be just his basic salary before bonuses, image rights and so on. And in terms of the cost to the club, you have to add 15 per cent on for National Insurance too.
“We know that United’s last wage bill was £365m, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said that about £250m of that was related to the first-team. If you look at the levels of seniority within the squad and the wage structure, that means Fernandes has to be on somewhere close to £450,000 per week in terms of his total cost to the club, which is almost £25m per year. That gives you a flavour of how these wages can be understated.
“As a point of order, ignore the websites who specialise in aggregating player wages. They are doing pure guesswork, and it can be easily disproved by looking at the audited finances, which are publicly available.
“At Paris Saint-Germain, where Donnarumma would have signed from, it’s going to be even more extreme. The accounts show that they have the highest wage bill in the world at around £570m. If, say, 70 per cent of that is related to the first team, that’s £399m. Split that between 30 players and it gives you an average weekly wage of nearly £260,000.
“Donnarumma is going to be at the very top end of the structure as one of their galacticos. So it’s very safe to assume he will have earned at least £450,000 per week. Whether he is commanding a salary like that at City, I don’t know. The reports say it’s £13m annually, but I think that could be what he earns in net terms, before tax and so on. It’s probably going to be close to £500,000 per week, in truth.
Gianluigi Donnarumma PSG Stats Games Played Clean Sheets Goals Conceded
All Competitions 161 56 156
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s PSG statistics
“Could United have stretched to that? I think they could have done, but whether they should have done is another question. I think there’s a case to say that Alexis Sanchez is the worst signing in Premier League history in terms of what he did to United’s wage structure. Ineos have said they want to move to a more incentivised contract model, where players aren’t rewarded for sub-par performances. So to commit nearly £25m-a-year on one player – which is £125m over the course of a five-year deal – would have been very bold.
“With PSR and cash flow, I think they could have done it, but it’s a question of strategy more than anything. Those are Cristiano Ronaldo-level wages, after all.”
Man United will be relying on Senne Lammens
Despite missing out on Donnarumma, Man United signed Senne Lammens in a bid to solve their goalkeeping issues this season.
While not as high-profile a footballer as the former PSG shot-stopper, Lammens is expected to be put into the starting line-up as Amorim’s top choice between the sticks moving forward.
Man United were also linked with Emi Martinez from Aston Villa. Still, they ultimately decided on Lammens as the right option for the club moving forward, despite the Argentine being “desperate” to join.
Rio Ferdinand admitted he’d have chosen Martinez, due to his personality and experience, which adds even more pressure onto United’s new goalkeeper moving forward.