Manchester United given stark £65million Champions League warning amid transfer budget concern

The Champions League is mentioned three times in the latest financial results released by Manchester United on Tuesday and it doesn't take long to realise the effect that Europe's premier club competition has on the balance sheet.

These results cover the three months until December 31, 2023, when United were back in the group stage of the Champions League, having spent the same period last year in the anonymity of the Europa League groups. There is, of course, no mention of how they actually got on.

These second-quarter results for this financial year are a paint-by-numbers exercise in detailing the value of Champions League football to a club like United. You won't need reminding that Erik ten Hag's side finished bottom of a group they should have made light work of.

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The three-monthly fiscal figures to follow later in the season might give us more detail on what crashing out of Europe entirely in December did to United's finances. The net profit of £20.4million they posted in these figures has eased concerns about failing to comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules, but it is the six months that will follow that will really hurt, with no European games at Old Trafford and no revenue from the Champions League or the Europa League.

United's tight compliance with the Premier League's FFP rules was already likely to put a dent in this summer's transfer budget, but a full season outside of the Champions League could be even more damaging. In the report detailing these results, a significant uptick in broadcast and matchday revenue is put