The cost of failure in the Champions League
Manchester United players look dejected after Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi scores their side's third goal of the game.
The Champions League brings extra riches for clubs that do well. Last season Manchester City took home €80m including prize money and share of broadcast revenue when they lifted the trophy. This year’s champions will receive over €85m.
For United, the worst-case scenario is that they lose to Bayern and finish bottom of the group with only one win and one draw to their name – leaving them out of Europe all together. They will take home €15.64m for taking part in the group stage, plus a €2.8m bonus for beating Copenhagen (thanks to Andre Onana’s last-minute penalty save) and €930,000 for a draw against Galatasaray. That’s €19.37m in total - a drop of more than €65m on what their noisy neighbours could yet earn from the tournament.
It is estimated Manchester United make almost €5m a match from games at Old Trafford, which has a capacity of 74,310. Should they find themselves out of Europe altogether, that means significant revenue lost over the next few months at a time when new investor Jim Ratcliffe is hoping to spend big in the January transfer window.
There’s no suggestion that decreased revenue will lead to a reduction in the transfer budget, but it’s one more thing to worry about at a time when the club needs to press forward and attract big names.
Given that United are bottom of Group A and playing the run-away leaders, it’s going to take something special against Harry Kane and Co to find the victory required. But there may also be little consolation in a draw.
Financially, a place in the Europa League has advantages. But it also brings Thursday night football, longer away trips and Sunday afternoon football in the Premier League – none of which will feel like a big achievement for the club’s already frustrated supporters.
The Europa League still carries prestige, with €8.6m up for grabs for the winners, and United have enjoyed winning it before, of course. But would they be better off out of it all together – and able to focus on the Premier League and FA Cup? A trophy won in 2024 – and a place in next year’s Champions League - would do more for the Ratcliffe regime and United’s reputation than a few more games in the Europa.
Living in the shadow of neighbours City, at least in performance terms, has become a long-term reality but United have always been able to claim the glamour and prestige of being Manchester United is worth far more.
Every year that goes by without a major trophy or European success - but with continued crises on and off the pitch – dents that reputation and takes one more layer of sheen off the United glamour and glitz.
You have to go back to 2019 for the last time United even reached a quarter-final in the Champions League. How much longer can we go on describing them as the biggest club in the world when they fail so often to deliver and continue to tumble from one manager to another without any improvement in results? Paris St Germain get far more stick than United for failing to win the Champions League - but the French club's record is far better over the last five years.
United’s lack of success also impacts their UEFA coefficient, which helps determine seedings and even how much a club is paid when they play in the Champions League.
That means that a reduced coefficient could see United have a far tougher group draw in future - even if they qualify again for the Champions League.
It will hurt them anyway that Manchester City currently top the coefficient rankings with 139,000 points.
United are hanging on to their place in the top 10, just, as they sit ninth with 92,000 points (below Leipzig incidentally). An early exit this time, however, could see others overtake them. Despite having won the trophy three times.
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