Krishnan Sreekumar
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick warned Manchester United must secure European football by the end of the season
According to ESPN, Manchester United have informed interim manager Ralf Rangnick that a spot in Europe is necessary for the club by the end of the season, even if they miss out on qualifying for the Champions League.
The German took over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer late last year, tasked with guiding the club back up the Premier League table after Solskjaer’s last few months at the club saw the side slip massively down the points tally.
Thus far, the former RB Leipzig boss has seen his team reach the seventh place, sitting six points away from the hotly contested fourth place in the league table, which would provide an opportunity to qualify for the UCL next term.
While a fifth and sixth-place finish this season would provide a pathway to play in the Europa League next campaign, a seventh-place finish in the summer would ensure that the side is playing in the Europa Conference League. Although these are competitions that are played in Europe, they do not have the same prestige as the Champions League.
European football is a must
Given where the club are positioned in the PL and estimating a likely outcome where a top-four finish is not achieved, Rangnick has been reminded during meetings with the United board that securing European football for next season is important for the club’s finances.
Playing in UEFA competitions bring commercial revenue to the English giants, who earned matchday revenues of £34.6m as reported in their latest quarterly results. This accounted for the fact that eight such European games were played in front of a capacity crowd at Old Trafford.
After going through the winter transfer window without spending a penny on new signings, perhaps the club may be looking at the upcoming summer transfer window to add reinforcements to the squad after the disappointing season we have had this term. Perhaps the finances we earn from playing in Europe next season could see us invest more at the end of the campaign.
Having finished second in the league last time around, many expected United to compete for the title after adding Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, and Jadon Sancho to the team last summer. However, with the club sitting seventh in the PL, things look dire in Manchester.
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As things stand, the Red Devils will qualify to play in the Europa Conference League next season – a competition that the English club has not played in. Rangnick has been informed by the board that they would like the side to earn a chance to play in Europe next term, even if it’s via the Europa League or Europa Conference League.
This requirement would negate the possibility that Rangnick could look to use the remaining games to rotate his squad and play youngsters from the academy, given that a European spot is necessary for the club’s finances and he is under pressure to deliver.
