Manchester United could ‘spend £400m’ in the summer transfer window, but would need to sell two players first.
Man United will be without European football next season, having lost to Spurs in the Europa League final on Wednesday (21 May), as well as currently sitting 16th in the Premier League table.
As a result, they are likely to receive a ‘financial penalty’ from their kit manufacturer, Adidas, as a ‘Champions League clause’ is inserted into the deal between the parties.
As reported by The Athletic in April, United were expected to earn a minimum of £85m if they qualified for the Champions League with “each [club] receiving a €18.6m (£15.7m) starting fee”.
The kit deal is worth £90m per year, but according to the report, the amount could reduce by £10m in every season United fail to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition, which is the case next season.
Ruben Amorim may look to recruit this summer (Credit:Getty)
So, in order for United to fall within financial regulations they could be forced to sell two players in order to fund summer transfers.
The players in question are academy graduates Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa.
According to AliceTalksFooty, the sales of the duo, thought to be worth a combined £95m, would represent pure profit from a Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) standpoint.
Alice explained: “When you buy a player, the cost is amortised over their contract. E.g. Buy someone for £60m on a 5-year deal = only £12m per year on the books. So if United makes £95m in pure profit, they could (theoretically) spend up to 4–5x that — between £300m–£475m — and still comply with PSR, depending on wages and contract lengths.”
Of course, this is purely theoretical at the moment, but football finance expert Kieran Maguire did confirm that the scenario was a possibility.
“Yes, it can be done, assumes the players coming in are on the same wages as those departing, but broad principles apply,” Maguire commented.
United’s main targets are Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap and Wolves’ Matheus Cunha with the duo reportedly worth a combined £92m.
Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford (Credit:Getty)
Ruben Amorim on Man Utd summer transfers
When the summer transfer window opens on June 1, United fans will be keen to see new players arrive at the club after a torrid campaign.
However, without the added pull of Champions League football, this may prove to be a sticking point in negotiations for the club.
Speaking in a press conference in April, Amorim, 40, said : “It is Manchester United. What I feel is that there’s a lot of players that want to play for our club. I know that if you look at our club in the moment, it looks like, sometimes, with all the problems, with the staff, with people going, changing coach, the results, it looks a little bit of a problem in the moment but we have a clear idea and that is the easiest part to explain to a player. And then it is Manchester United. Everybody wants to play for Manchester United.”
