‘Ratcliffe and Glazers must fund emergency cash injection at Man United’
Man United bosses are staring at a financial black hole this summer after their worst league finish in over 50 years.
Coupled with their failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League following a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final, the picture at Old Trafford looks gloomy.
A lack of European football, as well as a penalty applied by kit manufacturers Adidas in the event of no Champions League qualification, are just the tip of the iceberg.
Further losses are likely to include a cut in Premier League merit payments as well as the expected drop in matchday receipts as a result of fewer home games.
According to Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – the off-field problems at Man United could become one of the stories of this summer and next.
Old Trafford savings ‘don’t mean anything’
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted only an emergency cash injection from co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and The Glazer Family can transform fortunes at Old Trafford.
Man United began the process of telling staff they had lost their jobs just hours after the Europa League final loss to Tottenham.
| Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | 48 | -2 |
| 14 | West Ham | 38 | 43 | -16 |
| 15 | Man United | 38 | 42 | -10 |
| 16 | Wolves | 38 | 42 | -15 |
| 17 | Tottenham | 38 | 38 | -1 |
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “How Man United combat this is going to be one of the stories of the summer and of next year.
“All eyes are watching very closely because this is a big issue for them.
“The Glazers and Ratcliffe need to put their hands in their pockets and get some cash into the club.
“Ratcliffe would probably say he’s been seeing these sorts of issues coming down the line, and that all of the redundancies and cost cuttings are making for a leaner club.
“However, in reality, those savings don’t mean anything compared to what it means to have missed out on even a few positions in the Premier League as well as European football.
“One blessing for them, if anything, is that they haven’t got European football next year, so they’re going to be more focused on a Saturday and there’ll be more games at three o’clock, which the fans will enjoy.
“But that’s not what they would have hoped for at a club like United, so they’re going to have to put their hands in their pockets.”
Man United told Garnacho ‘not a priority’ for Napoli
On the transfer front, United have considered selling Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho this summer in order to raise some much-needed funds.
However, as reported by Football Insider (30 May), the latter is not a priority signing for potential buyers and newly-crowned Serie A champions Napoli.
By letting go of their academy prospects, the fees would represent pure profit on United’s balance sheets, helping them remain compliant with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
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