MANCHESTER UNITED are set to lose out on £10m in expected income if they continue on their current trajectory.
The Red Devils are in dire form and currently languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.
Ruben Amorim is yet to turn things around on the pitch with a third consecutive defeat on Thursday leaving United some 12 points off fourth placed Nottingham Forest.
It now looks extremely unlikely that Man Utd will qualify for the Champions League this season, a failure that could have a huge impact on the club’s finances.
According to The Times, United’s contract with kit manufacturer Adidas contains a penalty clause that sees them lose out on £10MILLION for every season they fail to qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
That hefty loss would be coupled with huge amount of losses in broadcasting and match-day income too.
United are already flirting with breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP_ regulations and have undergone a number of cost-cutting measures since the arrival of Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Sun Sport exclusively revealed Ratcliffe and the club cut funding to the Association of Former Manchester United Players, a charity set up in 1985 o help footballers from bygone eras who earned nothing like the megabucks of today’s superstars.
While Ratcliffe’s other cost-cutting measures have included cancelling senior staff members’ credit cards, stopping staff from using private cars and even asking Man City if they could give United players a lift to the Ballon d’Or in their private jet.
Manchester United do have measures in place to try and offset failure to qualify for the Champions League.
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The club’s annual report says that players salaries change based off their participation in Europe or not.
It reads: “Failure to qualify for the Champions League would result in a material reduction in revenue for each season in which our men’s first team did not participate.
“To help mitigate this impact, the majority of playing contracts for our men’s first team include step-ups in remuneration which are contingent on participation in the group stage of the Champions League.”
Former Everton chairman Keith Wyness has claimed that United are close to the line with Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) and FFP.
Speaking to Football Insider, Wyness said: “Yes, they are now right on that line for PSR.
“The interesting thing is that we know they are on the New York Stock Exchange. If there is a material risk of them breaching PSR, that will have to be declared to the market.
“I’m very intrigued by that situation. They’ve had a very poor start to the season.
“If they’re not going to make Champions League next year, unless Amorim can bring a big resurrection in the second half of this season, then that will also add PSR pressure.
“They’re in a risky situation, so Amorim needs to deliver the goods. There’s pressure on him from day one.”
United have to change their on-the-pitch fortunes in order to rescue their financial situation.
For Amorim and his low-on-confidence squad that continues on Monday with a tricky clash against an in-form Newcastle United side.
Things don’t get any easier from there either with games against Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton all on the horizon.
