Man Utd could face a £100m fine if they fail to qualify for the Champions League

MANCHESTER UNITED will reportedly be fined £10 million each time they miss out on Champions League qualification under a new sponsorship package.

The Red Devils have released their latest financial figures and they show that despite their disappointments on the pitch, they are on the verge of breaking annual revenue records.

They also showed that, largely as a result of United’s participation in the Champions League, staff costs at Old Trafford have increased.

Their commercial revenues fell by £6.9 million, as did sponsorship revenues, which fell by 22 percent.

However, retail saw a growth of 15.2 percent following United’s new £90 million kit deal with Adidas and thanks to sales from their megastore.

Now more details about that deal have emerged in the financial reports – and failure to reach the Champions League will prove costly if a clause is included.

They come in from next year and differ from the existing deal which saw United only penalized if they failed to qualify for the competition for two seasons in a row.

That original contract with Adidas expires in 2025.

The new package adds another ten years, but there are several updated conditions.

A maximum bonus of £4.4 million will be paid to the club each season if their men’s or women’s team wins “the Premier League or Women’s Super League, FA Cup or continental competitions respectively”.

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United had never been hit by the punishment that was previously part of the original agreement, as they never missed the Champions League for two years.

But if they had done so, it would have resulted in a 30 percent deduction, which would have been worth around £22 million.

The half-yearly financial report confirms: “As a result of the qualification of the Men’s First Team for the 2023/24 Champions League, no deductions are due under the original term.

“Under the extended term, this clause has been amended to provide that a deduction of £10 million will be made for each year of non-participation in the UEFA Champions League.”

That means they could miss out on a mega £100m if they don’t qualify over the life of the contract.

Meanwhile, United had a huge wage bill last season totaling £384.1 million and over the current period staff costs have increased by £95.1 million, which is mainly due to the fact that they play in UEFA’s top league and not in the Europa League.

The Red Devils announced a club record turnover of £648.4 million 12 months ago, but still managed to make a loss of £42.1 million.

They are predicted to break that figure with a total expected fee of between £635 million and £665 million, while these figures also show a sum of £156 million being poured into the club’s coffers.

That was after Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought 27.7 percent of the club in a deal worth £1.03 billion.

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