Manchester United must pay Sporting Lisbon an additional £4.5million because of a bonus clause in the deal they agreed to sign Bruno Fernandes in January after qualifying for the Champions League.
Related articles Man Utd beating Leicester justifies £30m Woodward decision Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sends Ed Woodward transfer message The Red Devils needed a single point from their clash with Leicester on Sunday and came away from the King Power Stadium with all three.
Bruno Fernandes' penalty and Jesse Lingard's stoppage-time finish secured a 2-0 win and a third-placed finish for United.
It is just the third time in seven seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson's 2013 retirement that United have finished in the top four, and their second-best finish before coming second under Jose Mourinho in 2017-18.
Brendan Rodgers' Leicester had a 14-point lead over United back in February but the form of the two teams since has been a complete contrast.
United are unbeaten in the league since back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Burnley in January.
Man Utd face additional Bruno Fernandes transfer bill after sealing Champions League spot (Image: GETTY) With Fernandes in the team, they have won nine of 14 league games, scoring 30 goals.
With United's Champions League qualification secured, Fernandes has already repaid the fee the 13-time Premier League winners paid to sign him.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side agreed an initial £47m fee that could rise to just shy of £68m.
And as part of the clauses that could take the eventual payment up to £68m, United now owe Sporting £4.5m after qualifying for next season's Champions League, according to Sky Sports' Kaveh Solhekol .
The Portugal international's contributions since his arrival have been astounding with eight goals and seven assists in just 14 matches in England's top flight.
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Man Utd face additional Bruno Fernandes transfer bill after sealing Champions League spot (Image: GETTY) Across all competitions for Sporting and United this term, Fernandes has mustered 25 goals and 22 assists in 48 games.
Off the back of 32 strikes and 18 assists in 53 games last season, the 25-year-old's form is far from a flash in the pan.
READ MORE Roy Keane states the signings Man Utd need to catch Liverpool and City And Solskjaer will hope his No 10 can be similarly lethal next season, with United back in the Champions League and looking to catch Liverpool and Manchester City in the league.
Before then, though, Fernandes will hope to fire the Red Devils to continental glory in the Europa League.
United take on LASK in the second leg of their round of 16 clash on August 5 but leading 5-0 from the first leg, are all-but through already.
In the last eight, they will take on Istanbul Basaksehir or Copenhagen in a one-leg match, with all of the competition's remaining rounds to be completed within 90 minutes - or a maximum of 120 if extra time and penalties are needed.
But even if they do not win the Europa League, as they did for the first time ever in 2016, United's spot in the Champions League next season is already confirmed.
And Solskjaer said after the win over Leicester: "I think the boys have completed a great achievement. You know where we were earlier in the season, so to end up third is a fantastic achievement.
Man Utd face additional Bruno Fernandes transfer bill after sealing Champions League spot (Image: GETTY) Related articles Roy Keane hails Man Utd and singles out key moment in season Jack Grealish to Man Utd: Dean Smith offers £80m transfer update "They have taken on so many things, we've had our ups and downs, but of course it came down to the last game and it is a wonderful achievement by everyone.
“Champions League qualification means better opposition next year and big games. That’s what these players need.
"We need to step it up because it means every midweek you've got to go with your best team.
"In the Europa League, we've rested players and given an amount of minutes to young lads. Now, we've got to go for every game.
"You've got to go and get fitter and stronger and more robust. That's another part of the Champions League - of course, financial gain. But that's not in my head.
"The club know what I feel we need and we're going to try and pursue it. So let's see where we end up."
