It is not a statement said often (or ever!), but Manchester United might be thankful for not qualifying for the Champions League next season in a few years’ time.
Man Utd’s Europa League final defeat to Spurs stings a lot, not just because of the manner of the loss, but also because it was the only potential saving grace of a wretched season.
Add to that the pressure Ruben Amorim will be under, Man Utd’s financial situation, and the straightforward analysis is that the club missed a huge opportunity to kickstart their rebuild better.
However, look beneath the surface, and it’s clear that not qualifying for the Champions League next season solves their biggest transfer worry in the market.
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
Man Utd’s biggest transfer market worry
United are heading into arguably the most important transfer window in the club’s history, especially since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
A huge clearout is expected and now that United have pretty much zero midweek games, the squad will be much leaner too.
Those sales will supplement the arrivals, with United’s transfer budget only expected to be around the £100 million mark.
Trigger Matheus Cunha and Liam Delap’s release clause, even in instalments, and more than half of that figure vanishes into thin air.
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Therefore, what they need to get right, arguably more than buying well, is selling well. That has been a pain point for United for a long time.
However, that pain point would have become even more severe had United qualified for the Champions League because of the nature of the contracts structured by the club.
Big silver lining to Man Utd missing Champions League
Pretty much every contract signed at United included a clause where a player’s wage gets increased by a set percentage when the club is in the Champions League.
It is completely understandable since UCL brings a huge boost to revenues, so it is only right to share it with the players who helped achieve it.
However, now that United have failed to qualify for the tournament for two years in a row, United players’ wages are down by 25%.
That is a huge figure for the highest earners. The likes of Casemiro, Marcus Rashford, and more will all come under the £300k/week mark, thereby making them easier to shift.
Granted, their wages were the same at the start of this season too, since United didn’t play UCL, but qualification for next season would have triggered that 25% raise from July 1.
United’s top earners are already almost impossible to shift, adding a 25% premium on top of that would have restricted Amorim’s hands.
Instead, he can act now by shifting more players due to reduced wages, lesser number of fixtures, and a streamlined squad before an assault at the Champions League next season.
By then, hopefully, the players who get that 25% raise will all be deserving of it instead of albatrosses around the club’s wage bill.