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Why United need the Champions League

No Champions League football damages Manchester United commercially, not only making the club a less attractive prospect to potential sponsors but also allowing existing partners to claw money back.

During the summer of 2023, United renewed their partnership with kit supplier Adidas until 2035 in a deal worth £90m ($114.3m) per year. As part of the extension, a £10m deduction can be made in every season that United do not qualify for the Champions League.

This season is still in progress, but so far, without Champions League football, United’s total broadcasting revenues have fallen by more than a third — from £145.7m to £92.9m — in the first half of the campaign compared to the same period last year.

Winning the Europa League would bring a welcome financial boost in itself, but there is significantly less prize money on offer when competing in European football’s second-tier club competition. United have already earned at least €12.2m from their Europa League run so far through participation and performance-related payments. If Amorim’s side go on to win the final in Bilbao in May, they will secure another €19.7m on top of that.

Altogether, United will pocket around €42.5m from UEFA should they go all the way in the Europa League this season, plus another €4m for reaching next season’s Super Cup and an extra €1m for winning it.

And yet, that is no more than they could expect to receive for falling at the first hurdle in the Champions League. All the clubs eliminated from this season’s Champions League play-off rounds should earn more than United in Europe this season, no matter how far Amorim’s side go.

That only goes to show the disparity in financial rewards between UEFA’s two leading club competitions and why for United and any elite club, Champions League qualification is of paramount importance.

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