Paul Pogba and David De Gea are using the uncertainty over whether Manchester United will qualify for next season’s Champions League to demand huge pay rises to stay at Old Trafford. Along with the rest of their team-mates Pogba and De Gea will be forced to accept an automatic 25 per cent pay cut on their existing deals, worth £290,000 and £200,000 per week respectively, if United fail to qualify for next season’s competition — they trail fourth-placed Arsenal by two points with five games remaining. United have qualified for the Champions League every season since Pogba returned to the club in 2016 so the France midfielder has not suffered the indignity of a pay cut, although De Gea experienced one in the 2016-17 season