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Jose Mourinho’s Defence Could Cost Manchester United a Place in the Top 4
- Updated: November 21, 2016
In mid-November, Manchester United were forced to admit they would be penalised by Adidas if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
There is a clause in their 10-year contract with the sportswear company that if they do not earn a place in Europe’s premier club competition for two consecutive seasons, their annual payment will be cut by as much as 30 per cent, as reported by the BBC.
The bottom line is, United could miss out on an estimated £21 million next season.
In 2014, when United negotiated their contract with Adidas, they would have been more than content to include this clause, for the notion they would not play in the Champions League for two consecutive seasons seemed preposterous.
After all, between 1996 and 2013, United had played in the Champions League for 18 consecutive seasons, reaching the final four times and winning it twice.
While United had failed to qualify for the 2014-15 season, this was believed to be an aberration, explained away by the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Although they made the group stages of the 2015-16 Champions League, they finished fifth in Premier League last season and missed out on Europe’s top club competition once again, and so another failure this season will prove to be an even more expensive mistake.
By only collecting a point against Arsenal on Saturday, United find themselves six points outside the top four, with a vastly inferior goal difference, and there is now a real risk they could stay there for a second consecutive season.
The greatest obstacle to United hauling themselves back in to the Champions League places is the crisis currently engulfing their defence.
On Saturday, they wilted as soon as Arsenal belatedly applied some pressure, when Olivier Giroud rose unchallenged to grasp a late equaliser.
Over the course of the last 14 years, the United manager Jose Mourinho has built his reputation on a succession of impenetrable defences at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, but so far he has failed to replicate that at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese has not looked comfortable, or even terribly happy at the start of what he hopes will be a successful reign at Old Trafford.
Without his usual defensive …
