Man Utd news: United ‘will have to sell to buy’ if no European place

There is a lot riding on European success for Manchester United this season financially.

Following a disappointing domestic campaign, United will need to win the Europa League to secure a place in next season’s Champions League. Qualifying for Europe’s elite competition would not only be a silver-lining in a poor season, but it would also bring in much-needed money this summer.

Reflecting on their financial situation, Athletic journalist Adam Crafton said: “It’s not impossible they finish 17th in the Premier League. You look at the table now, they’re three points above Wolves and if they get to the semi-finals of the Europa League they’re probably going to drop more points in the Premier League because they’ll be building up for these big games in Europe as well.

“Even between 17th in the table and 13th – there’s an £11m difference in terms of the merit payments you get for finishing in those positions. That’s probably the savings that United were going to make from the latest wave of redundancies, so that would be swept away straight away.

“It’s going to come down to what they do in Europe this season. If they get back in the Champions League, for sure they’ll get money to spend. But if not, they’re going to have to sell to buy in a really significant way and that’s why people keep mocking when United players leave the club on loan and do well.

“But actually someone like Antony doing well at Real Betis or Marcus Rashford doing a little bit better at Aston Villa, that’s exactly what they need to happen because they’re going to need to cash in on some of these players.”

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