Man Utd finance chief forgets recent Champions League failure with warning to UEFA

Manchester United 's financial guru has taken aim at UEFA's split of Champions League revenue despite the Red Devils not even operating at Europe's top table.

Cliff Baty is the finance chief at Old Trafford and has raised issues with the way Europe's governing body are distributing the broadcast revenue, claiming big clubs should get a bigger slice of the pie. That is despite United finishing sixth last term and playing in the forthcoming Europa League.

United, still regarded as one of the world's biggest sides, have been unable to back up their reputation on the pitch over the past decade. They've failed to make it past the last eight in the Champions League for the last ten years - and have spent several seasons playing in Europe's secondary competition.

European Leagues showed data which highlighted that a £2.95bn annual income in the current 2021-24 cycle, sees £2.3bn being handed to the 96 participating clubs with just £143.7m split among 750 non-participating clubs.

Baty aired his concerns, stating: “One thing I would say from our perspective is that (the split) gives us a degree of certainty that helps in terms of sustainability, and all the discussions that are happening around financial sustainability and financial fair play in football. If you take that away, it’s going to increase the volatility and it’s going to be more difficult for us to manage.

“And whilst I appreciate the sentiment of wanting to give more money (to smaller clubs and those outside European competition) the pie is getting bigger – (and) the reason the broadcasters are paying that much money is for the product, frankly at the Champions League level.

“If you’re changing the distribution and wanting more money, I think you’ve got to be