It says a lot about the state of the modern Manchester United that a manager who has Ajax at the top of his CV is dictating the conditions he needs to accept the vacancy at Old Trafford, but you can hardly blame Erik ten Hag for wanting assurances over what he's getting himself into.
The biggest club in the world or the most chaotic soap opera in football? United won't stop trumpeting their cause to be the former, but record numbers of Tik-Tok engagements and noodle partners aren't going to make a new banner in the Stretford End.
On the pitch, this club has become a laughing stock. Standards are as low as they've been in decades and any United fans brave enough to tune in to events at the Etihad yesterday would have barely recognised the sport being played by Manchester City and Liverpool.
