They need European football at Old Trafford…
Manchester United could lose out on £150 million if they fail to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in a row, reports the Daily Mail.
SEE MORE
Manchester United Transfer News
Six Big Transfers That Should Go Through This Week, With Movement At Liverpool And Manchester United
Faustino Asprilla Blasts Manchester United Boss Louis Van Gaal For Dropping Radamel Falcao
The Red Devils lost to Southampton on Sunday, to put a dent in their hopes of finishing in the top four come the end of the campaign. The defeat was their first since the beginning of November, but the dire performance still led to some fans venting their anger at the team. Manager Louis van Gaal has been accused of not improving the team, despite spending over £150 million on new players in the summer.
The Mancunian club have lost £50 million this season from missed gate revenues and prize money, and this could triple if they aren’t in Europe’s premier competition for another season according to one expert. The money spent in the last transfer window in both fees and wages has put more pressure on the team to get in to the Champions League for next time round.
Professor Ellis Cashmore, from Aston University, explained, “It’s hard to quantify but in terms of reputational damage you could be talking treble the £50m.
‘”United need to qualify and the Glazers will want them to qualify but if they don’t the long-term damage caused by underachievement could actually be more important,” she added.
‘”I’d compare it to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL,’ he said. ‘Throughout the late 80s and 90s they were huge in America but then they started to struggle and their brand was damaged by it. I think we have already seen that with United and it will affect their commercial pulling power,” the academic concluded.