Old Trafford in a Bind: United's Costly Contracts Become a Burden
With players on massive wages like Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee, the Red Devils can't operate normally in the summer market.
With players on massive wages like Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee, the Red Devils can't operate normally in the summer market.
While English giants don't hesitate to spend on reinforcements, Manchester United is facing the consequences of their own past mistakes. As an analysis by the British Sun reports, the club from Old Trafford is in financial trouble precisely because of players whose wages and contracts prevent any serious move in the market.
Financial fair play rules don't allow spending more than what is earned through sales. This summer, United has only sold 21-year-old defender Tyler Fredricson, who moved to Swiss club Lausanne-Sport. On the other hand, the club has spent around £87 million on bringing in Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Tynan Thompson, while goalkeeper Karl Darlow arrived on a free transfer. That figure places United near the bottom of the spending table compared to their competitors.
The central issue at Old Trafford is Marcus Rashford. The 28-year-old English striker earns £325,000 a week, which has become an insurmountable obstacle for almost all interested clubs. After a loan spell at Barcelona, a permanent transfer fell through, and an additional blow came from Aston Villa. The club where Rashford revived his form and earned a call-up for the 2026 World Cup decided to buy the younger Alejandro Garnacho for £40 million instead.
Enough said about the status of the England international is the fact that in the past year, he has practically not even set foot in the new £50 million training center in Carrington. A similar fate awaits Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee. After arriving for £36.5 million, he has remained on the fringes of the squad, and United can't find a buyer willing to cover the invested money.
The situation the club finds itself in is incomparable to 2007 and the era of Sir Alex Ferguson. During that period, United was dominant both in bringing in and selling players. In the same summer transfer window when they signed Nani, Anderson, and Owen Hargreaves, the club earned significantly from the transfers of Kieran Richardson, Giuseppe Rossi, Alan Smith, and Gabriel Heinze.
Today, however, Manchester City and Chelsea are heavily using their networks of partner clubs to generate revenue from their academies, while United faces difficulties because players refuse to leave or have contracts that no one in the market wants to take on. Until the issue of departures is resolved, Red Devils fans can't expect major signings before the end of the transfer window.
Fans who want to follow Manchester United's matches in the upcoming season should know that broadcasting rights vary depending on the competition. In Germany, all Premier League matches are available on Sky, either as individual broadcasts or as part of the conference. From the 2025/26 season, Sky has also included the Carabao Cup in its English package. Subscriptions start at €24.99 per month, and broadcasts are also available via streaming platforms Sky Go and WOW.
When it comes to the FA Cup and the Community Shield, DAZN holds exclusive rights in Germany, so those matches will be available exclusively via stream. Selected matches will also be covered with a live ticker on SPOX. The club, founded in 1878, has so far won 20 English league titles, 13 FA Cups, and 3 Champions Leagues, with Ryan Giggs holding the record for most appearances with 963 competitive matches.
