Manchester United are now finding out the true cost of their failure to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Newly-appointed boss Erik ten Hag has identified the players he feels can launch United into a new era under him and enable him to take the world's most famous club back to the top. But ten Hag's hopes of recruiting the players he wants have hit a wall over United's inability to offer them the chance to play in European club football's elite competition.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is the most glaring example. Ten Hag worked with the Dutch midfielder at Ajax and wants to build his new-look United midfield around the 25-year-old. But while Barca are keen to sell £75million-rated De Jong, to go some way to helping ease their financial crisis, the player himself is less enamoured with the prospect of moving to Old Trafford.
