Why some Manchester United players will have been denied Champions League wage increase

Qualification for the Champions League has provided financial boosts to the Manchester United squad, but some players have missed out.

Football finance expert Stefan Borson has explained how changes to contracts have prohibited universal wage increases at Old Trafford.

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A third-place finish in the Premier League last season granted United a place in the 2026/27 Champions League league phase.

Having won 12 of their 17 league matches under Michael Carrick once he was named as head coach in January, they comfortably finished in the top five.

Many top clubs offer financial incentives to players as part of their deals, which Champions League qualification one example of this.

United will have been no different with their players, but a few will not have benefited from their achievement last season.

How does United’s wage increase work?

When discussing wage increases for Champions League qualification on talkSPORT Breakfast, Borson said: “They’ve got a number of players who will be on a 25 per cent uplift…

“20, 25 per cent, we’ll see it in the accounts, we don’t know exactly what it is. But apparently what they’ve done going forward is they’ve tweaked a lot of, even those contracts.

“If you haven’t played in the team that qualified, then you’re not automatically entitled to the uplift.”

As per the Daily Telegraph, those who played 60 per cent of last season’s games will have earned a wage increase from the European qualification.

This criteria is said to have been introduced as they found it difficult to sell players who were on higher wages via the increase.

Marcus Rashford has still earned a recent rise, despite not playing for United amid his loan spell at Barcelona.

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However, this is because the contract that he signed in July 2023 was finalised before the club brought in their new requirements.

“Yes, Rashford will be, because he’s got one of the older contracts,” Borson explained.

“But a player that didn’t play very much last season may not be entitled to the uplift.”

How do United’s wages compare to Premier League rivals?

Earlier on the Breakfast show, United We Stand editor Andy Mitten claimed that the club are ‘constrained financially’.

He added: “Long gone are the days, and it’s pretty sobering as a Manchester United fan, that they can go to the biggest clubs and take some of their best players.”

Although he believes that limited spending may only be temporary, Borson explained why they haven’t been as strong in the market in comparison to past seasons.

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“You’ve had a private equity owner in INEOS come in, and they have a different approach.

“They think they can do it in a more conventional private equity manner, where they can beat the market by spending less than the market, they can reduce the wage bill, they can be smarter in the transfer market, we’ll see if it works.

“No club has sustained success at the top of the game with a wage bill that’s going to be 25, 30 per cent lower than (Manchester) City, Liverpool, Arsenal.

“That’s what United are trying to do this season. Can they do it? It’s going to be a challenge. They’re going to have 60 games, not 40. Is the squad going to be big enough?

“Is the squad going to be a high enough quality? That’s going to be their challenge. But I think, for now, what they’re trying to do is right size the wage bill that they believe is the right size, which is closer to the sort of Tottenham Hotspur history.

“But it’s miles away from where City… City are going to be close to a £500million wage bill going into this season. Liverpool are going to be close to £500million, Arsenal are going to probably be at £425million, £450million, depending on what happens in the transfer market.

“Manchester United are probably going to be around about £325million, £350million, a big difference.

“And that’s going to be their big challenge, can they sustain top-four football with just a much lower cost base?”