Leeds United’s financial ruin was a cautionary tale for all clubs not to spend beyond their means on the hopes of securing European football, and history could repeat itself if Manchester United’s slide continues.
As Leeds move back into the Premier League, there’s one fixture that stands out on the calendar from all others to look forward to, and that’s a reunion with Manchester United.
Daniel Farke’s Leeds side will no doubt fancy their chances of a historic scalp next season, based on what Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils are serving up on a weekly basis, and what financial forecasts are suggesting too.
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Manchester United facing possible financial “austerity” in stark Leeds United comparison
The Man United of old were a force to be reckoned with, and even when Leeds returned to the top flight in 2020 under Marcelo Bielsa, they were still lightyears ahead.
However, Amorim’s side have dropped off a cliff this season, sitting 16th in the table and now with no silverware to paper over the cracks, frustratingly going within 90 minutes of still qualifying for the Champions League – instead forced to settle for a lower mid-table finish and no European football next season.
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Finances at Old Trafford are well-documented as bleak, and their failure to qualify for the Champions League – a la Leeds in 2002 – is forecasted to bring “austerity”.
That’s according to journalist Romain Molina, who posted this eerily familiar update on X about Man United:
“Manchester United’s defeat is dramatic for the club’s finances and Ratcliffe.
“Austerity +++ is coming.”
Will Leeds United stay up in the Premier League?
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Could Leeds United go toe-to-toe with Manchester United next season?
It’s difficult to see how a club goes into near-oblivion from European football like Leeds did in the early 2000s, but if any other club is risking it, it’s Man United.
Their debts are enormous, their spending is beyond absurd on failing players, and the results aren’t masking over it like Erik ten Hag managed to do somehow.
What is certain is that Leeds are coming into a Premier League season with many clubs under pressure to turn things around or face being dragged into a real mess.