27 Feb 2026 12:16:52
Vis a vis buying Elliot Anderson or other top midfielders this summer with the £300m + we will have available how do we compete wages wise? We have a structure in place. So we offer £180k a week and City offer £280k a week! Then what? Over to you Elliot!
27 Feb 2026 13:10:09
Then he goes to City. Rather have players who want to be here, like Mbeumo, Cunha, Sesko. Can see them genuinely playing for the shirt too. But we really need to kick on, especially if we get top 4. 4/5 top quality players and added depth will also be needed with more games next season. Just want to see us kick on and say, right, we've got CL football, now we actually need to be competitive, challenge for the league and CL, or it'll just feel like the same cycle we've stuck in for years, regression after progression.
No point qualifying for the CL if we say we don't have a squad capable of winning it.
27 Feb 2026 13:11:10
Whatever structure we have in place this season will be 25% higher next season if we make Champions League, which will allow us to be competitive. Will that mean players would choose us over City in a straight decision, probably not, but there are only so many players City can sign, and there are plenty of midfielders available with the right scouting.
27 Feb 2026 13:36:11
Can't see him picking City over United when City will be in the Conference North!
27 Feb 2026 13:51:00
I fear a dodgy deal will be arrived at. The Premier League are terrified of being locked in a costly, expensive battle forever.
27 Feb 2026 15:18:00
Since when have we had 300+ million pounds to spend?
27 Feb 2026 15:21:25
We're going to lose Casemiro and Sancho, and hopefully Rashford off the wage structure. That's nearly a million a week. Take into account Malacia leaving and Hojlund. I wouldn't be too worried about wages, there's enough saved there to give 4 quality players 250 a week.
27 Feb 2026 15:54:29
It said it in the Daily Sport, Simo. It must be true.
27 Feb 2026 16:18:24
There may well be savings of nearly a million a week in wages, but that certainly does not mean we will pay 250k a week to four players. A wage structure is now in place and will be kept to. If we get Champions League football, that will see increases, but I like the fact high wages now have to be deserved and justified by performances. As has been mentioned, we want the players to come to us because we are the club they want to be at, such as Cunha and Mbeumo, who made it clear to numerous other suitors they would only join us. Also Matthijs De Ligt made a significant salary loss of approx 70/80k a week to join us, now that is a hefty wedge.
I know he has had a number of injury issues, but compare that attitude to Sancho and Rashford, who were not prepared to make any such sacrifice. I realise they have valid contracts, but it should be a two-way street whereby continual poor performance is reflected in earnings. Let's face it, years of mega high salaries given by Woodward to players, just to show how he was Billy big b*******, have hardly been a proven success, have they? Pay them well, but make them earn it.
27 Feb 2026 17:03:46
Tumbleweed, must be true then lol.
27 Feb 2026 17:41:33
The point being, how do we compete on wages with the likes of Man City or Liverpool, et cetera? I assume the draw of Manchester United will be enough? Bit out of date with buying the Daily Sport, aren't you, Ken? It closed down years ago! I heard it from Ben Jacobs. What he knows is anybody's guess. ??♂️
27 Feb 2026 18:50:13
The European rules regarding squad cost allow for 70% of revenues, which will be the same in the EPL for teams qualifying for European competition. I can't speak to the extent to which our transfer capacity will be affected by the £1.3bn total debt, but in theory, I believe we should be able to spend round £350m and remain within the UEFA and FA limits.
The exact capacity will depend on what happens with Hojlund, Rashford, and Onana, and other potential outgoing transfers (Mount, Ugarte, Malacia, Zirkzee, and perhaps some younger prospects etc), but we do know we'll save around £45m a year on Casemiro's pay and amortization and Sancho's amortization.
27 Feb 2026 19:09:34
Don't mean to say for a minute SJR will want to spend it all. He is cutting back everywhere, as Ineos are struggling big time.
27 Feb 2026 20:27:41
We will offer competitive wages that are within our new wage structure. After that, it's down to the player. Ultimately, if they only want to join us because we'll pay more than anyone else, then they aren't the right player for us. No player joining Manchester United will be poorly paid. But if money is the deciding factor in your decision and someone else is offering you more, then I'd shake your hand and wish you well with your move elsewhere. No hard feelings. We need players who want to be Manchester United players, who want to run out onto the Old Trafford pitch every other weekend, who feel like this is the place to play football, because ultimately getting paid good wages typically only gets about 70% effort out of people. That extra 30% comes from intrinsic motivation, which only happens when you are connected by something else to a club. Money is a form of extrinsic motivation, which is the first thing to go out the window when things get difficult.
Think about your own experiences when life is getting challenging, when you keep taking a kicking and everything seems to be going wrong. Is it the wages that get you out of bed and into work that morning, or is it something else, something more meaningful, like being able to provide for your kids or be that role model for them, because you can't give up on them. That intrinsic motivation is what drives you to overcome those challenges. Players who choose United for the paycheck will fold the moment it gets hard, and at Manchester United the one thing you can guarantee is that at some point it'll get hard. I think Anderson is the best available option for us in midfield, but if he would rather go somewhere else because they'll pay him more money, then he is no longer the best available option.
28 Feb 2026 01:45:49
Who says that if Anderson chooses City or anyone else, it will be for the money? I'm not saying, for one second, that it will happen, but if United signed Vini Jr, they would pay him 400k plus per week. There can be exceptions to a general wage structure. People who work for money first, Shappy, can often be the people who are least likely to fold when the going gets tough, Shappy.
People motivated by money, firstly, know that they need to be successful to maximise their earning power. Drop your levels and your earning power decreases substantially.
28 Feb 2026 08:29:13
Ken, we've seen so many examples in football of players playing really well during contract negotiations, and then their form starts to dip before the ink is dry on their new contract. Luke Shaw only stays fit in the last 18 months of his contract. Then, as soon as a new deal is signed, he's back to dating the physio. Rashford was pushing Bruno as our best (most important) player right up until he signed his last contract.
Then, his form dropped off a cliff. This highlights that money is only a short term motivator for the vast majority of people. Also, footballers have short careers, and sign long term contracts that guarantee their wages regardless of how much effort they put in.
28 Feb 2026 10:56:13
Shappy, how many people have you employed on a money basis only? They are often the last to fold. So you bringing up 2 examples of players you think with no evidence stopped due to being only motivated by money.
Rashford is taking a wage cut, he is so motivated to join Barcelona which negates your argument. You have an opinion which is formed with no experience or knowledge and you think this highlights the fact (no less) that money is a short term motivator for the vast majority of people.
I'd imagine you have very little experience of employing people on secure contracts. Shaws on less wages this year riddance last as is every player in the squad that list European football, but they are all doing better than last year. Funny that.