Manchester United face losing £25m of £75m-a-year adidas sponsorship deal if they miss out on the Champions League for a second year running... with Manchester City's escape from a European ban piling on the pressure
* Manchester United have a lucrative £75m-a-year sponsorship deal with adidas
* If they miss out on the Champions League for another season, it drops by 33%
* United will lose £25m of next year's fee from adidas if they finish outside top four
* Southampton's late equaliser on Monday dropped them instantly from 3rd to 5th
Manchester United will miss out on a huge £25million sum from kit sponsors adidas if they fail to qualify for next season's Champion League.
United have a mega-money £75m-a-year deal with the sportswear brand - second only in the Premier League to Liverpool's £80m contract with Nike - but there is a clause which is likely to be worrying the club's hierarchy.
If United fail to qualify for Europe's premier competition for a second straight season, adidas will not have to pay £25m of the £75m next season, taking the deal down to just £50m - a sum well below the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.
United were in pole position to take third place in the table on Monday night, but a last-gasp equaliser from Southampton dropped them instantly to 5th - a place that currently means Europa League for next season.
Until this week, fifth place would have guaranteed United a spot in next season's Champions League, but after Manchester City won their appeal against a two-year European ban that all changed.
Now Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men, who are 18 matches unbeaten in all competitions, will need to leapfrog Leicester if they are to secure a spot - and that extra 33 per cent of investment.
United risk missing out on £25m in sponsorship cash from adidas if they finish outside top four. As it stands United are level on points with Leicester and one behind Chelsea in top four race
As it stands, United are level on points with Leicester with a three-goal deficit on goal difference, and one point behind third-placed Chelsea.
In their final three matches, the Red Devils face Crystal Palace away, West Ham at home - and then Leicester away in a mouthwatering clash on the final day of the season.
In the Premier League, Liverpool have the biggest sponsorship deal having signed an £80m-a-season contract with Nike back in January.
Until that point, United's £75m-a-season adidas deal was the biggest in British football history.
Both figures are dwarfed by Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the two Spanish clubs far and away the most well-paid in European football. The former takes in £110m a season, while the latter earns £100m.
In the Premier League, Manchester City earn £65m a season with Puma, Arsenal £60m with adidas and Chelsea rake in £60m with Nike. Tottenham, meanwhile, have a £30m-a-year deal with Nike.
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