Football News

Erik ten Hag reportedly faces the prospect of a 25 per cent pay cut if Manchester United fail to qualify for next season's Champions League and he keeps his job.

The Dutch coach is under intense pressure with United likely to fall short of a top four finish in the Premier League and a place in Europe's top competition.

Although United have booked their place in another FA Cup final, the manner of Sunday's semi-final win over Championship side Coventry - in which they chucked away a three-goal lead - only increased the scrutiny on their manager.

According to ESPN, if United fail to make the Champions League, it would trigger a 25 per cent pay cut for Ten Hag and several senior players on incentivised contracts.

This would see Ten Hag's salary reduce from £9million-a-year to £6.75m and could potentially mean a less lucrative compensation package should United decide to fire him a year before his contract expires.

United sit seventh in the Premier League table ahead of Wednesday night's visit of Sheffield United, some 16 points adrift of Aston Villa in fourth with two games in hand.

While mathematically not out of Champions League contention, their prospects of making up that gap appear slim and England's poor performance in Europe this season means a fifth slot in the expanded group phase has receded.

Reports this week have claimed United privately accept replacing Ten Hag at the end of the season comes with a certain degree of risk - chiefly because there isn't an outstanding candidate to replace him.

New minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team - now in charge of football operations at Old Trafford - reportedly have reservations about certain candidates.

England boss Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter, latterly at