What’s the story?
Manchester United are set to lose around £85 million if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League group stages, reports the Daily Mail.
The Red Devils are currently sixth in the Premier League table with 45 points from 24 games, behind Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. They will stay in sixth place, irrespective of the outcome against Premier League champions, Leicester City.
The club signed a record £750 million deal with kit manufacturer Adidas for over a period of 10 years. Their failure to finish in the top four or win the Europa League could see them lose 25% of the value when they head into the next season.
In case you didn’t know...
The Adidas deal was confirmed in 2014 and came into effect at the start of the 2015/16 season and the kit sponsorship deal with Adidas is worth £750 million. Manchester United cut their ties with Nike as the kit sponsor after a 13-year run with the American giant.
The heart of the matter
The clause in the contract suggests that Adidas will pay 25 percentage lesser than what they have to pay for a season, if United fail to qualify for the Champions League for two years in a row.
In addition to this, the lack of Champions League action means they are set to lose around £60 million from TV revenues and prize money. The report also claims that the 20-time English champions could cut short five percent of the prize from their VIP and hospitality season-ticket, which could cost them £3 million.
The collective sum of the losses Manchester United would end up losing is around £85 million if they fail to qualify for the next season’s top flight European club competition.
After Jose Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford last summer, United made several high profile additions to the squad. Despite this, they have failed to challenge for the title this term, which has raised concerns over their possibility of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
What’s next?
With Manchester United’s chances of finishing in top four looking very challenging, they should probably turn their attention to the Europa League as the winners of the second-rung European competition ensures a direct entry into the Champions League.
Sportskeeda’s take
If Jose Mourinho’s side do not qualify for the Champions League, it will be the second year running in which the 3-time European winners won’t play the elite European competition, which is a greater loss than the £85m that they would stand to lose.
