Manchester United have been far from their best this campaign, especially after a promising first season under Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils will now face an uphill battle to achieve Champions League football, with new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe hopeful that his club will achieve it.
Despite dealing with injuries all season and not signing anyone in January, United’s best form has arrived in 2024, winning five out of eight Premier League games.
Although it’s an improvement, there are still some players who are struggling to live up to their huge wage, unlike the ever-improving youngster Kobbie Mainoo, who is starring in the team.
Kobbie Mainoo’s salary
In January 2023, Mainoo made his first start as a Man United player, making his debut against Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup, but it would have been impossible to predict that just over a year later, he would become a vital player for Ten Hag.
The 18-year-old made his first Premier League start for United in November in the 3-0 win over Everton, but it may have been sooner if he hadn’t picked up an ankle injury in pre-season.
The midfielder has since started the last 12 Premier League matches for the Red Devils, performing to an extremely high standard, notably winning United’s January Player of the Month award.
Nonetheless, Mainoo remains one of the lowest earners in the United squad, taking home just £10k per week or £520k over the entire season,
In truth, that is nothing compared to what some of the top earners are getting paid at the club.
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ByTom Lever Casemiro’s Man United salary
The defensive midfield position was one that simply had to be improved when Ten Hag took over, which led to the signing of Casemiro for a colossal fee of £70m from Real Madrid.
During his first season, the Brazilian helped United win the EFL Cup, scoring a header in the final against Newcastle United while also being a consistent performer, starting 24 games and contributing to seven goals in the league.
However, that hasn’t been the case this campaign, with the "scary" number 18, as dubbed by Gary Lineker, missing 17 matches through injury and struggling to deal with the tempo and pace of the Premier League since, from both an in-possession and out-of-possession perspective.
The then-30-year-old arrived at Old Trafford off the back of a Champions League triumph, and in order to secure his services, United threw a huge contract at the midfielder. The amount in question makes him one of the highest-paid players in the entire division.
#1 Kevin De Bruyne
£400k
#2 Erling Haaland
£375k
#3 Casemiro
£350k
#4 Mohamed Salah
£350k
#5 Raphael Varane
£340k
#6 Raheem Sterling
£325k
#7 Rashford, B. Silva, Grealish
£300k
#8 Kai Havertz
£280k
#9 Gabriel Jesus
£265k
#10 Reece James
£250k
Unsurprisingly, this has also made Casemiro the highest earner at the club on a rather staggering £350k-per-week, which looks set to be a mistake after his showings this campaign, especially when you consider that he earns Mainoo’s annual salary in less than two weeks.
Casemiro’s wage is simply ridiculous for what he offers on the pitch, with Mainoo having better statistics in the Premier League this season.
Weekly wage
£350k
£10k
Matches played
15
14
Yellow Cards
4
3
Dribbled past (per game)
2.2
0.9
Possesion lost (per game)
10.8
7.7
What will concern Ratcliffe the most, is the fact that the Brazilian is now 32 years old and set to cost United £54.6m in wages over his three remaining years on his contract, which will look like even more of a howler if he continues to follow the downward trend of this season.
In truth, for the Red Devils to not be rinsed by Casemiro, they must look to sell the former Real Madrid star as a priority in the summer, with his performances not warranting such a lucrative contract.
Wage Burners
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