Football: Manchester United, a feverish institution in the house

One last performance in the theater of dreams, which in recent months has become more of a den of horrors. Manchester United will conclude its season this Sunday, May 25 at 5 p.m. by hosting Aston Villa at Old Trafford, for the 38th and final day of the Premier League. The Mancunian institution, currently 16th in the standings, could, in the event of another poor performance, drop to 17th position, which would be its worst performance since its relegation in 1974. A nightmarish season for the most successful team in English football, the fourth richest club on the planet (770 million euros annual budget) according to the Deloitte firm, in line with a progressive decline over the past decade, United's last league title dating back to 2013.

Portuguese coach Rúben Amorim's men couldn't even console themselves with a victory in the Europa League final, where they were defeated on Wednesday by the equally moribund English club Tottenham. A €100 million setback: the Red Devils thus saw a ticket to the next particularly lucrative Champions League disappear. United's poor Premier League ranking also has financial repercussions: English clubs receive money based on their sporting merit. Last season, each place from 20th to last represented £2.8 million (€3.3 million), an amount that accumulates with each additional rung to reach the £56.4 million (€67 million) collected by the then champion (local rivals Manchester City).

It's expected to be a busy summer at the Carrington training ground. Several players could pack their bags in an effort to boost their coffers. Captain and player of the season Bruno Fernandes even offered to leave if it would help his club rebuild: "If the club thinks it's time to part ways because they want to make money or whatever, that's it." As for the manager, who has only won six league games since arriving in November, he has indicated he's willing to leave without compensation.

Which doesn't seem to be on the agenda for United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe. The boss of the petrochemical group Ineos, according to the Times , would like to continue with Amorim and provide him with a budget of 100 million euros to use in the summer transfer market. This could increase if certain players (Rashford, Antony, Sancho) are sold. Rúben Amorim, for his part, seems to be aware that a shake-up of his squad will not be the magic recipe. "We have to change a lot of things within the club. The way we train, the recruitment, the academy [...]. We have a lot of work, and more important things to resolve to bring this club back to the top," he declared before the Europa League final.