Man United are still alive and kicking in this season's Europa League - and winning the competition has to be a priority for more than just one reason.
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Manchester United's name is displayed on a piece of paper during the Europa League draw.
Manchester United have racked up the prize money.(Image: Valerio Pennicino - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images.)
Manchester United's on-field performances in the Europa League this season have already generated just under £6.3million in prize money ahead of them resuming their campaign next month.
United progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition just over a fortnight ago after beating Real Sociedad 5-2 on aggregate in the last-16. The Reds won the second leg 4-1 at Old Trafford after the first meeting in Spain a week earlier had finished 1-1.
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As a result, United will now face French outfit Lyon in the quarter-finals next month. The first leg will take place at Groupama Stadium on April 10 before United welcome the Ligue 1 side to Old Trafford seven days later.
With United's Premier League campaign dead in the water, the Europa League offers them their last hope of salvaging something from what has otherwise been a forgettable campaign. The added bonus of winning the Europa League is that it secures Champions League qualification for next season.
As well as that, the Europa League also offers financial benefits, with the winner of the competition in line to pocket £10.95m. The final will be staged in Bilbao in May and members of United's away end at Leicester City prior to the international break were already singing about the prospect of reaching the showpiece final.
But as a result of progressing to the quarter-finals, United have already banked just north of £6m in performance-based prize money.
Ahead of the start of the campaign, UEFA announced that each league phase victory would be worth €450,000.
United won five of their eight league phase matches, meaning their victories over PAOK, Bodo/Glimt, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers and FCSB secured €2.25m (£1.9m at the current exchange rate). Their three remaining draws saw them secure €450,000 (£375,000).
United finished the league phase third in the table, meaning they automatically progressed to the last-16. The teams that finished inside the top eight banked an additional €600,000 (£503,000).
Bruno Fernandes celebrates with his teammates after scoring one of his three goals against Real Sociedad.
Manchester United's Europa League dream is still alive and kicking.(Image: Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images.)
For reaching the last-16, United added another €1.75m (£1.46m) to their kitty, with a place in the quarter-finals banking another €2.5m (£2.084m).
If United get the better of Lyon and reach the semi-finals, in which they will face either Athletic Bilbao or Rangers, they will bank a further €4.2m (£3.5m). A spot in the final would increase their prize money by a guaranteed sum of €7m (£5.8m).
Should they go all the way and secure their first European trophy since 2017, the financial reward for winning the competition will be €13m (£10.84m).
All in, the prospect of United winning the Europa League would see them bank just north of £20.6m based on their on-field performances alone, meaning that could be a significant injection into head coach Ruben Amorim's transfer budget.
Additional prize money is also handed down to clubs who have participated in the Europa League this season, with the 36 who made up the league phase each pocketing around £3.36m. It means, all in, United winning the Europa League could eventually be worth just under £24m.
With United going to have be incredibly mindful of their financial situation this summer, they need every possible revenue stream they can get, meaning winning the Europa League would be beneficial both on the pitch and off it.