Manchester United enter next chapter with Champions League breakthrough
First ever main-draw place signals ambition, yet the club must prove it can retain top players and strengthen to compete with Europe’s elite
On Thursday night, Manchester United reached the league phase of the Women’s Champions League (UWCL) for the first time in the club’s history, overturning a 1-0 first-leg defeat by SK Brann by beating the Norwegian side 3-0. Elisabeth Terland’s second hat-trick of the qualifying campaign fired United through in a dominant display under the lights at Leigh Sports Village.
Potential impact
The impact of United reaching the league phase for the first time cannot be overstated. Financially, they will receive £440,000 for reaching this stage of the competition, with the potential for a further £52,000 for each win in the league phase. It has been no secret since INEOS took control of the club that cost-cutting has affected all areas, including the women’s side, with United spending less in the summer transfer window than in previous seasons, despite securing a top-three finish last season and reaching another FA Cup final.
Making it through to the UWCL league phase is a chance to gain more exposure for the women’s team, being among Europe’s elite, showcasing the players and the Manchester United brand from a women’s-team perspective to a wider audience. The team needs investment, on and off the pitch. On Thursday night, Manchester United chief executive, Omar Berrada, and chief operating officer, Collette Roche, were in attendance at Leigh Sports Village, where fans unveiled a banner reading “Invest in Man United Women” – the message could not have been clearer. Now that the team have reached the league phase for the first time, this must be the moment to invest properly and push towards the target of winning the Women’s Super League by 2028.
This also has a huge impact from the players’ point of view, with many stating in interviews that reaching this stage of the Women’s Champions League was their target. United have seasoned winners of the competition in the squad, such as Melvine Malard and Fridolina Rolfö, which will undoubtedly help the less experienced players through this new chapter in the team’s history. With big players such as Elisabeth Terland and Ella Toone, who are out of contract next summer, reaching this stage is a significant step forward for the club in those negotiations – not only to say that the ambition exists to reach the Women’s Champions League proper, but to prove it by achieving that feat. This will also have an impact on any transfer targets in future windows, with the attraction of playing Champions League football regularly for Skinner’s side now looking more realistic after making it this far – and with relative ease in the qualifiers too.
Draw
Manchester United have been drawn against some of the strongest sides in the women’s game for the league phase. Their home ties include eight-time winners Lyon, fellow French side Paris Saint-Germain and Norwegian side Vålerenga. United have also been drawn away to Juventus, Wolfsburg and Atlético Madrid.
A home tie against Paris Saint-Germain and the prospect of returns to Leigh Sports Village for Mary Earps and Jackie Groenen has excited fans, with this the first time Earps has faced United since leaving on a free transfer in summer 2024.
These fixtures will certainly test an already thin squad, with the games against Paris Saint-Germain and Wolfsburg falling three days either side of the Manchester derby. Marc Skinner has said in press conferences that investment is needed in the January transfer window, but while that window will be crucial for United to bolster the squad, the league phase will have been completed by the time it opens.
There are big tests to come for Skinner and this squad, but it is an exciting time to be a United fan, following the team on this journey as they test themselves against Europe’s elite.
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