The true cost of Man Utd being knocked out of the Champions League: Up to £45m in prize money, no blockbuster matches and fading status as a top club

United are braced for an initial hit of €9.6m (£8.2m/$9.m) in prize money for failing to make the last 16 and they will have to forgo the other bonuses that come when progressing further in the competition: €10.6m (£9.1m/$11.4m) for reaching the quarter-finals, €12.5m (£10m/$13m) for the semi-finals, €15.5m (£13.3m/$16.6m) for finishing runners-up and €20m (£17m/$21m) for winning the competition.

That's a maximum of €52.7m (£45m/$56m), even if it were highly unlikely that Ten Hag's chaotic side were ever going to win the Champions League. But they did reach the quarter-finals in both 2014 and 2019, so a more realistic figure of €20.2m (£17m/$21m) could have been on offer. To put it another away, enough to buy a Manuel Akanji or a Tyrell Malacia...

United do not even have the Europa League money to soften the blow. They will miss out on €500,000 (£429k/$539k) for reaching the play-off round and a potential total of €18m (£15.4m/$19.4m) for winning the competition.

United also miss out on big money-spinning matches in the knockout rounds. According to the Sports Journal, United made an average of £3.96m ($4.9m) per Premier League match in 2022 - more than any other side in the English top-flight - and that figure will be £4.2m ($5.2m) this season after the club raised ticket prices by 5 percent.

If United had qualified for the last 16 and been drawn against a colossal club like Real Madrid or Barcelona, the figure would be higher still. So that's a potential £12.6m ($15.8m) at least in matchday revenue that could have been secured if United had gone as far as the semi-finals.

The club could have recouped some of that money if they had dropped into the Europa League, even though demand for tickets and prices would likely have been lower.

United will also earn less television money for exiting the competition early. UEFA offers a total of €300m (£257m/$323m) in broadcast revenue which is distributed to each federation based on the value of their television market.

The English broadcast deal is the biggest, so Premier League clubs are entitled to more money than their counterparts. United already secured half of this amount, but the other half is paid out in proportion to how many matches each club plays, meaning they will get a far smaller slice of the cake than if they had gone deep into the competition.

An additional €600m (£515m/$646m) is shared among clubs according to their UEFA coefficient, which is calculated over a 10-year period and based on performance in European competitions. The lowest-ranked team earns €1.1m while the top team is awarded €36.4m.

Real Madrid currently lead the coefficient standings, followed by Bayern Munich and Barcelona. United are ranked 11th, with Man City fourth and Liverpool eighth.

Last season, Chelsea were ranked highest of the English clubs (they are now positioned sixth) and pocketed €32m. Tottenham, ranked lowest of the English clubs, took €19m.

United are now bound to slide down the rankings after exiting the Champions League and missing out on the Europa League, although their relatively strong performances in the Europa League and Champions League in previous seasons mean it will not be a considerable loss. But it all adds up.

The sums might not seem catastrophic given United posted a record revenue of £648m ($813m) last season, but the club are not exactly in rude financial health. They made a loss of £27.8m ($33m) this year and a £115.5m ($144m) loss the previous year, although that was largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

They continue to sail close to the wind with regards to both the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules and UEFA's financial fair play regulations, falling foul of the latter in June and being forced to pay a €300,000 fine. The club have done a particularly bad job of selling on players, especially compared to their rivals, bringing in just €110m in sales over the last three years while spending €589m on new arrivals.

In other words, they need all the revenue they can get, and the loss of Champions League and Europa League earnings will put the club's finances under more pressure.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, United have only managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League twice. They have been knocked out in the last 16 twice and failed to even qualify on four occasions. They have now been knocked out at the group stage for a third time.

It is not the track record of a top club and pales in comparison to the consistency of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and even Liverpool, until they failed to qualify last season.

United still see themselves as among the top clubs in the world, but a desperately disappointing showing in the most prestigious competition means they are the only ones to think so. And perhaps even the most vociferous Reds might now be starting to question that status.

United's failure to compete properly in the Champions League inevitably means they will struggle to attract the best emerging players. The club failed to convince both Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland to join as youngsters, and once both players were established stars at Borussia Dortmund and looking for their next move, United weren't even in the conversation.

The Red Devils can still pay top wages, but they are struggling to attract real elite players at the peak of their powers. Casemiro and Raphael Varane may have joined from Real Madrid, but that was only once the Spanish giants had concluded they were past their best and wanted to cash in on them.

The best players not only want a guarantee of playing in the Champions League, they want to have the best chance of lifting that coveted trophy. And United cannot offer them either at the moment.