Manchester United Reportedly Have £38M in Wages Resting on Europa League Win

Victory over Ajax in this season's UEFA Europa League final would be worth a reported £38 million to the Manchester United playing staff in what's been described as "the most lucrative match ever staged for a single squad."

According to Matt Hughes of The Times (h/t MailOnline's Adam Shergold), all Red Devils players earning more than £20,000 per week at Old Trafford will forfeit 25 per cent of their pay if they fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

The report indicated the 25 per cent deduction only applies to the 22 first-team players who finished last season under manager Jose Mourinho's predecessor, Louis van Gaal.

News of a potential salary cut at the Theatre of Dreams fell on the same day that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward revealed the club's revenue report for the first quarter of 2017.

Rob Harris of the Associated Press provided a summary of the club's available finances to date this year, reporting that while revenue has increased, the club's debt and overall losses have also gone up:

Per Shergold's report, the wage structure at United "assumes they will reach [the] Champions League every year," and with a top-four finish in the Premier League looking unlikely, a Europa League win is now their only route back.

That being said, BBC Sport's Simon Stone reported the English titans are "making more than anticipated" from the Europa League, with record profit guidance forecasted as a result of other Premier League clubs' failing in European competition:

The Daily Mail's Mike Keegan also noted figures on the club's forecast of overall profit, which are also on the increase despite finishing fifth in the Premier League last May and missing out on Champions League participation:

The summer arrival of players such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic means there are some gargantuan salaries at risk of being trimmed, too. The Daily Mail's Chris Wheeler reported on two of the club's highest earners earlier this month, with Pogba raking in £165,588 per week, while Ibrahimovic earns an eye-watering £367,640 per week plus bonuses.

That being said, Ibrahimovic's contract expires in June, and after suffering serious knee ligament damage that's set to keep him sidelined until the latter end of 2017, the Swede may not be owed wages by United for much longer.

If the Red Devils required any extra motivation to beat a young Ajax side when they collide at Stockholm's Friends Arena on Wednesday, May 24, the dangers of losing a quarter of their earnings could provide it.

Defeat to Ajax would also mean a failure to qualify for the Champions League for the third time in four seasons, having finished seventh and fifth in the Premier League in the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons, respectively.