The Champions League has left Manchester United behind
Como, the Champions League upstarts, showed Manchester United that Europe's top competition was no place for their ancient ways
It’s easy for any sportswriter to dunk on Manchester United for the last 15 years - they’ve been rubbish for that long. It’s also difficult for them to find many nice things to say about them in that time period. The truth is simple: top-level European football has left the whole club behind.
Manchester United last played a Champions League quarter-final in 2019, before the coronavirus shut down the world, nearly two years before Donald Trump left office for the first time and when the iPhone 11 was about six months from release. It’s been a long time, and for a club that spends so much, it’s embarrassing. It’s not a brand new revelation to say they aren’t amongst the top tier of European clubs anymore, and it’s probable they aren’t even considered in the tier below that - this level is just not for them anymore, and hasn’t been for some 15 years.
In the time that Manchester United last played a Champions League quarter-final, Aston Villa have valiantly performed in one, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool have reached a final while Chelsea and Manchester City have won the competition. Beyond even their English rivals, others have taken their place in the latter stages: Inter have reached two finals; their rivals, Milan, played a semi-final - both were in the financial depths in the 2010s; RB Leipzig, born in 2009, and Lyon, far from their glory days in France, reached the semi-finals in 2020, while Villarreal, who were playing in the second division as recently as 2012, gave Liverpool a run for their money in the semi-final in 2022.
The point is Manchester United are arguably the biggest wasters of resources in football, and arguably all of sports. They’ve spent just as much as and more than nearly all of the clubs mentioned above in terms of transfer fees, have handed out more lucrative contracts but lack in terms of European pedigree and in the overall structure of their club, which is just not fit for the level they are at, and the level which they aspire to be at. According to Transfermarkt, their €2.5 billion outlay since 2013 is the third-most in Europe, behind Chelsea and Manchester City. In terms of coaching, their style of football, the way they approach games, their youth set-ups, and quality as a whole, they are at least a step behind the rest of their domestic and European peers.
It’s evident for over a decade that Manchester United are just happy to claim a participation trophy, that the money they earn from qualifying in the competition is, in their eyes, more prestigious than the actual silverware on offer. In 2023-24, their last participation in the competition, they earned more than 18 other clubs in the competition after the group stage. This, despite finishing last in their group, and they earned more than the likes of Real Sociedad and Copenhagen, who would play in the knockout rounds. The club knows the value of the TV distribution fund provided by Champions League football, and are happy to prioritize that ahead of building a high-class football team.
The likes of PSG, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Arsenal have shown in recent years that the Champions League requires a level of attacking quality that’s thrilling and quick in equal measure, and Manchester United aren’t that. They can barely win their midfield battles - their best midfielder of the last 20 years is now their coach, Michael Carrick, was past his best by 2014. About the defence and their defensive set-up, the less said, the better.
Ahead of their game against Como, a defeat where they were shown their place yet again, their squad, marred by injuries and suspensions, was devoid of quality, one that would barely be able to compete in the Conference League, rather than Europe’s top competition.
For the first goal they conceded against Como, just two minutes into the game, United’s defence may as well have been sightseeing by the lake considering the space they were happy to give the wonderful Nico Paz for his gorgeous finish. The second saw the back-line opened with a few passes, leaving the defence dazed before Anastasios Douvikas’ composed strike. Two more fine Como goals were added later on to cap off one of United’s most embarrassing European displays. This just isn’t a team worthy of the big stages, and while there is a very fair way of determining who gets to play in the Champions League, giving a place to Manchester United has just felt like a massive waste of time for over a decade.
Como were efficient in their pressing, aggression and modernity. They were a notch clear of Manchester United in terms of their preparation and physicality. Como are clearly a well-coached team, as evident by their drastic rise in the last few years and it seems as though a Serie A title isn’t far away - my prediction was that they would win it this season, and they’ve started the season well enough to stay in contention. The Italians could well be the Champions League’s surprise package this season too: all of what they do is what’s required to succeed in the competition, and there’s plenty of lessons for others to take. They truly showed Manchester United how much they were lacking.
Is there a fix for all of this? Of course. But there has always been a fix since Alex Ferguson left, and they’ve always entered the same cycle: sack a manager, hire a new one, have the initial bursts of optimism before it all blows up. Nothing much has changed, and they are now a club stuck between the European places in England, like how Everton and Tottenham were in the mid-2000s, providing the odd cup runs for some added joy. For a club that always claims to have a lot more ambition, they are clearly far away from what they prop themselves up to be.
For whatever reason over the summer, they felt their apparent midfield rebuild where they purchased Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba - all relatively established Premier League talent - was enough to help them get to the next level. It was clear that this wouldn’t be enough. Maybe it would’ve been enough if they had players like Pedri, Jude Bellingham and Vitinha readily available, but they didn’t. This team and transfer window wasn’t sufficient. Reports of the club’s hierarchy leaving the apparent defensive rebuild to 2027 was even more shocking - who can blame Lisandro Martínez for his outburst last week?
In the current league phase, Manchester United’s progression to the next round isn’t impossible - the new(-ish) format allows for a few defeats. Three wins could well be enough to get them through to the knockout round play-offs, and they’ve got one already. Finding two more and mixing in a couple more draws is possible. It seems almost certain, though, that betting on them to go beyond the last 16 would be ill-advised. The club’s ambition and quality doesn’t match going that far, and they have been stuck in that cycle for a long time.
The Champions League is no longer a competition Manchester United can compete in. The gap between the very top tier of football and the club has grown substantially, and Manchester United are hardly interested in closing it.