Manchester United made an incredible comeback win over Newcastle on Saturday at Old Trafford but it cost the club millions and here’s why.
Manchester United Anthony Martial against Newcastle.
United battled back after falling 0-2 down at Old Trafford inside 10 minutes, scoring three times in the final 20 minutes to win 3-2.
Anthony Martial curled a superb effort into the bottom corner for the equaliser, between Juan Mata’s free kick and Alexis Sanchez scoring the winner with his head.
That goal by the French forward cost United £7.7million, thanks to a clause in the deal which saw him move from Monaco in 2015.
United parted with £38.5m in two installments to sign Martial, but the deal included plenty of lucrative bonuses which meant the deal could have eventually cost as much as £61.6m.
One of these was that United agreed to pay Monaco an extra £7.7m if the Frenchman netted 25 goals in the Premier League before the end of the current 2018-19 season.
Monaco were waiting on the cash for 10 months – before Martial struck against Newcastle, his last league goal had come against Burnley in January.
However the goal count eventually ticked over to 25 on Saturday – and it may not be the last time United have to pay up.
There are two more clauses in Martial’s contract that can be triggered which would see United have to fork out another £7.7m each.
One of these requires him to make 25 appearances for France – he is currently eight away – while the other would need him to win the Ballon D’Or.
That means United have so far paid Monaco £46.2m for the 22-year-old – and could be looking to recoup some of that fee soon, unless Martial’s relationship with manager Jose Mourinho improves soon.