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Manchester United have been 'stitched up' by several contract clauses in recent years - but they also stand to benefit from some too
Alejandro Garnacho could land Manchester United yet another financial boost, despite now being a Chelsea player.
The Argentine winger was sold for £40million last summer after a high-profile falling-out with then-manager Ruben Amorim. Crucially, United negotiated a 10 per cent sell-on clause as part of the deal, entitling them to a slice of any future transfer fee should Chelsea decide to move him on.
Because Garnacho was an academy product - having joined United from Atletico Madrid for just £100,000 in 2020 - the initial £40m fee was recorded as pure profit under the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). The same accounting benefit would apply to any sell-on income they receive down the line.
Garnacho, 21, signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge, keeping him at Chelsea until 2032, which suggests any potential windfall may not materialise for some time.
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However, his underwhelming start in west London - just one goal in 16 Premier League appearances so far - coupled with Chelsea's well-documented tendency to trade players aggressively in pursuit of profit, means a sooner-than-expected departure cannot be entirely ruled out.
Garnacho isn't the only former Man United player whose departure could yet yield further financial rewards for the club. When United sold Mason Greenwood to Marseille for £26.6m in 2024, they opted to secure a substantial sell-on clause rather than maximise the upfront fee, prioritising long-term value.
At the time, the agreement included a 50 per cent sell-on clause, entitling United to half of any future transfer fee Marseille receive. More recent reports suggest that clause is flexible and may have reduced to 40 per cent. Even so, it still represents significant financial upside.
As with Garnacho, Greenwood qualifies as a homegrown player, meaning any income generated from his transfer would be recorded as pure profit under PSR. To illustrate the potential scale: if the forward were sold for £50m, United could receive up to £25m under the original terms - or £20m if the clause now stands at 40 per cent.
That said, United would not retain the full amount. As part of the agreement struck during Greenwood's 2023 loan spell at Getafe, the Spanish side are entitled to 20 per cent of whatever United earn from his next transfer. There remains some uncertainty over whether that percentage would apply to the total fee or only to the profit Marseille make, but either way it would significantly reduce United's eventual windfall.
The clause involving Greenwood and Getafe is not the only contractual detail to have complicated matters for United in recent years.
When Manchester City sold Brahim Diaz to Real Madrid in 2019, they included a cleverly structured sell-on clause designed to deter a future move to Old Trafford. City retained a hefty 40 per cent sell-on fee that would be triggered specifically if Madrid sold Diaz to United. For any other buying club, the sell-on figure was set at 15 per cent.
By dramatically inflating the figure in the event of a United transfer, City effectively made it financially prohibitive for Madrid to sanction such a deal - a strategic safeguard against strengthening a direct rival.
It would not have been the first time a contractual clause had restricted a potential move to Old Trafford. During his time at Barcelona, Luis Suarez reportedly had provisions in his contract preventing certain elite European clubs from signing him directly.
United were among those clubs, alongside Real Madrid, Man City and PSG. As a result, when Suarez left Barcelona in 2020, several high-profile routes were effectively closed off.
He ultimately joined Atletico Madrid - and went on to fire them to the La Liga title in his debut season at the Metropolitano. A reminder, perhaps, that even the most carefully constructed contract clauses don't always work out as intended.
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