Manchester United on course for £22.4m loss that even Europa League glory cannot mask

'Thursday' has been the clear message from Manchester United players in recent weeks as their Premier League form continued to tumble.

To their credit, the squad managed to turn up for the Europa League, and now just one match separates Ruben Amorim's side from an undeserving place in next season's Champions League, if Premier League form was anything to go by. Unfortunately, the United players did not have that excuse to hide behind on Sunday as they slipped to their 17th defeat of the season.

West Ham were in as rotten form as United, but Graham Potter managed to mastermind a victory over Amorim's team in a game which the hosts dominated on every statistic bar the one that matters. Just Chelsea stand in United's way now before that season-defining clash with Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.

A victory over Spurs and United could count the season's objective as being completed. Lose, and there is nowhere to hide.

Regardless of the result in the Basque Country, one matter that can't be hidden by Europa League glory is the substantial prize money loss that United will take from their league position. The exact figures for 2024/25 have not been confirmed yet, the Premier League often makes these figures public knowledge at the end of the campaign.

However, they are likely to be similar to last season, which saw each position earn £2.8m more than the position below them. After a disappointing campaign that saw United finish eighth, they bagged a respectable £36.4m.

If they finish 16th, which they occupy at the time of writing, they will manage to earn just £14m. This is a £22.4m loss from the season before.

Winning the Europa League would manage to bag United roughly an extra £10.95m but that still would not cover the shortfall for their low Premier League finish. The real bonus would come next season when they entered the Champions League with £15.7m earned just for qualifying for the competition.

However, that does not alter the stain that would be left on the finances this season. In a best case scenario, United could still finish as high as 13th which would bag them £22.4m based on last season's figures.

But for that to happen, they would need to beat Champions League chasing Chelsea with a heavily rotated squad and Aston Villa. So that seems unlikely.

More concerningly, if Spurs can pick up one extra point in their next two matches in comparison to United, the Reds will finish an embarassing 17th and will take home just £11m in prize money. Even the unlikely best case scenario is a measily sum compared to last season and forgetting the Premier League could cost United dearly in the transfer window.

Not only is the Europa League final imperative to instill some pride back into the club but it is also imperative for the finances of United.

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