MANCHESTER UNITED will reportedly receive a £10million penalty for each time they miss out on Champions League qualification under a new sponsorship package.
The Red Devils released their latest financial figures and they show that they look set to break annual revenue records despite their disappointments on the pitch.
They also showed that, largely due to United’s participation in the Champions League, staff costs have increased at Old Trafford.
Their commercial revenue was down £6.9m as was sponsorship revenue, which dropped by 22 per cent.
However, retail enjoyed a 15.2 per cent growth after United’s new £90m kit deal with adidas and due to sales from their megastore.
Now further details on that agreement have come to light in the financial reports – and not making the Champions League will prove costly under a clause inserted in it.
READ MORE ON MAN UTD
They will come in from next year and are different to the existing deal in which United were only penalised if they did not qualify for the competition for two seasons in a row.
That original contract with adidas expires in 2025.
The new package will add another ten years on top of that, but there are several updated terms.
A maximum bonus of £4.4m each season will be dished out to the club should either their men’s or women’s team win “the Premier League or Women’s Super League respectively, FA Cup or continental competitions”.
Most read in Champions League
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER
United had never been hit with the penalty that was previously part of the original agreement as they never missed out on the Champions League for two-straight years.
But if they had, then it would have prompted a 30 per cent deduction that would have been worth around £22m.
The half-year financial report confirms: “As a result of the men’s first team qualifying for the 2023-24 Champions League, no deductions are due under the original term.
“Under the extended term, this clause has been amended to state that a £10 million deduction will be applied for each year of non-participation in the Uefa Champions League.”
That means that they will miss out a mega £100m should they fail to qualify over the length of the contract.
Meanwhile, United had a whopping wage bill totalling £384.1m last season and, during this current period, staff costs have gone up by £95.1m, which is mainly due to them being in Uefa’s top competition rather than Europa League.
The Red Devils announced club record revenues of £648.4m 12 months ago but still managed to make a loss of £42.1m.
They are predicted to break that figure with a total of between £635m and £665m expected while these figures also show a fee of £156m being paid into the club’s coffers.
That was after Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased 27.7 per cent of the club in a deal worth £1.03billion.
MAN UTD NEWS LIVE: All the latest news from Old Trafford
https://www.thesun.co.uk/feed/
Gary Stonehouse
