Manchester United will enter the summer of 2025 after their worst Premier League campaign in more than three decades since the 1989-1990 season.
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has caused a stir when hiring a new CEO (Omar Berrada) and a technical director (Jason Wilcox). The British billionaire has cut staff and planned a new, magnificent stadium.
However, Ratcliffe has yet to gain the trust and love of Man United fans. The Glazer family is not even more popular behind the scenes as the majority owner.
Replacing Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim last November at least made fans feel a plan, although the results were largely disappointing. Amorim's tactical system, 3-4-2-1, is proving to be a slow one, partly because most of the formation is not suitable. Moreover, this is a big change from Ten Hag's style.
Maybe it wasn't the right plan, but the feeling of disappointment has partly disappeared. Ratcliffe is not Glazer, which means most Man United fans are confident in him, at least for now.
A lot depends on whether the "Red Devils" can win the Europa League this year or not. They have entered the semi-finals, with Athletic Bilbao as opponent. A win in the Europa League means they will qualify for next season's Champions League. Regardless of the result, being in the top flight of Europe will bring Man United between £60 and £120 million in revenue.
Of course, not all of that money will be transferred directly to the transfer budget. The fact that many "Red Devils" players have contracts with automatic salary cuts of 25% if the club is not eligible to participate in the Champions League will help if they fail. However, participating in the Champions League will be a huge economic boost and attract many top players to Old Trafford.
According to British media, the Old Trafford team will set a budget of about 80 million pounds for net spending, which could increase to 130 million pounds or more if Man United qualify for the Champions League. They could save between £12 and £15 million in salary for players leaving the club. And the good news is that there are few upcoming contract extensions for them to worry about.
"The Europa League title is very meaningful. Man United could qualify for next season's Champions League through the Europa League title, along with many potential changes for the team this summer.
But nothing can save our season. Because Man United need to change many things and the most important thing is that we have stability. And the truth is that the Europa League title cannot solve any of our problems," Amorim said ahead of the match against Athletic Bilbao.
The match between Athletic Bilbao and Man United takes place at 2:00 am on January 2 (Vietnam time).
