By Andrew Warshaw
August 1 – The pressure on Manchester United to put in a strong season and get back to dominating the Premier League under new coach Louis van Gaal has been underlined with the revelation that the club must return to the Champions League before the end of the 2016-17 season or face the prospect of a 30% reduction in their world record £75 million-a-year kit deal with Adidas.
United failed to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 1995-6 and now risk the Adidas deal dropping to £52.5 million if the same thing happens over two successive seasons starting 2015-16.
United disclosed details of their £750 million, 10-year deal with Adidas – football’s biggest kit manufacturing arrangement – within the prospectus for the proposed sale of eight million shares on the New York Stock Exchange, making performances on the pitch even more crucial.
Although United will not compete in Europe at all during the upcoming season, the first time that has happened for 25 years, the penalty clause only applies from the start of the fresh Adidas deal, therefore from the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
The deal could even be terminated completely in the unlikely prospect that United are relegated. However, the pill has been sweetened by the fact that United stand to gain a £4 million bonus any time they win the Premier League, FA Cup or Champions League.
“Our success and many achievements over the last 20 years does not necessarily mean that we will continue to be successful in the future, whether as a result of changes in player personnel, coaching staff or otherwise,” United said in the share prospectus. “A downturn in the performance of our first team could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain coaches and players.”
After David Moyes’ dismal 10 months in charge, United are looking to revive their fortunes under van Gaal who signed a three-year contract in May and led the Netherlands to the World Cup semi-finals.
United, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, face Real Madrid in Michigan on Saturday in the fourth game of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States. The fixture is an incredible 109,000 sell-out.
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