Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sends Manchester United Champions League warning

Tom Doyle26 February 2020

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has warned that Manchester United need Champions League football sooner rather than later.

United missed out on qualifying for Europe's elite club competition this season, and must make do with a Europa League round-of-32 second leg against Club Brugge on Thursday night.

Winning the competition would seal Champions League qualification, while Manchester City's impending two-year ban from Uefa competitions means that as the Premier League table stands, United - currently fifth - would also qualify if they remain in the same position.

United recorded revenues of £627.1 million last year, but the second-quarter results showed they are expecting it to drop to make between £560million and £580million in 2020.

Getty Images

The Red Devils have also struggled in the transfer market, missing out on the likes of Erling Braut Haaland and Jadon Sancho over the previous year.

While neither player - both of whom play for Borussia Dortmund - necessarily turned United down due to a lack of Champions League football, Solskjaer knows another year out of the competition could cost the club both on and off the pitch.

Solskjaer - who guided United to a famous Champions League win over PSG last season - said on Wednesday: "We're a big club, we've got good finances.

AFP via Getty Images

"But of course the longer you're out the more you suffer, so of course it's an ambition for us to get back into the Champions League, both for the footballing reasons and financially that will help the club.

"We've just got to focus on the next game, this competition now, then it's the league on Sunday, then it's the FA Cup on Thursday, then it's the league again and hopefully more European games."

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