Man United’s £55m midfielder is now unsellable at Old Trafford

Mason Mount and the contract clause that has trapped Man United

Manchester United‘s Champions League return should feel like a victory lap. Instead, it has triggered a financial clause that has made one of their most expensive and underperforming signings almost impossible to move on. According to Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness explained that Mason Mount‘s contract contains a clause that increases his wages by 25 per cent upon Champions League qualification, pushing his salary to approximately £250,000 per week.

Mount joined United from Chelsea in the summer of 2023 for £55 million and has since managed only 72 appearances, seven goals, and two assists across three deeply frustrating seasons. Newly appointed permanent head coach Michael Carrick, who secured third place and elite European football for the club after taking the reins in January, now inherits a situation that goes far beyond tactics.

Wyness told Football Insider that Mount has shown some glimmers of returning to form, but nowhere near the level seen during his exciting years at Chelsea. With two years still remaining on his contract, and his market value crushed by poor form and persistent injuries, the Champions League clause has effectively made him unsellable this summer.

“It goes back to when Mount was bought and the people who negotiated that contract.

“There’s still a legacy of a lot of mistakes that are probably lying in those contracts that United still have to handle. It’s very tough because it’s so easy to do a quick deal and get something just to get a player in that everybody seems to want at the time.

“But believe me, it’s a long time for those things to unravel, and you have that headache for a long, long time. This is one of those that they realised was a mistake at the time. They always thought he was going to be a key factor in getting them into the Champions League.

“As we know, the story’s been completely different. He’s had injuries, he hasn’t hit form. So, this will be up to Michael Carrick now to try and rectify that mistake by getting the best out of him.

“It’s going to be very hard to move Mount on in that position.”

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What does Mason Mount’s situation mean for Carrick’s summer plans?

This is not purely a footballing problem. It is an institutional one. The people who negotiated that original deal in 2023 failed to anticipate a scenario where the club’s return to Europe would reward a player who had contributed so little. Carrick now carries that weight heading into pre-season.

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What Manchester United and Carrick must actually do with Mason Mount?

Carrick should treat next season as Mount’s genuine reset, not a courtesy one. Give him a defined role in a low-pressure system, protect him from overuse early in the campaign, and build his confidence methodically through the first half of the season. If Mount rediscovers even a portion of his Chelsea sharpness, his value rises, and a January exit becomes realistic. Manchester United must stop treating him as a problem to hide and start treating him as an asset worth recovering. That shift in thinking is the only rational path forward.