Manchester United's money-men are preparing for a doomsday scenario of empty stadiums for up to SIX months after football re-starts.
And they aren't alone with many leading clubs believing mass gatherings and a return to capacity stadiums of up to 75,000 fans may not happen until NEXT year when a vaccine may be widely available.
Like many top clubs, I understand United's financial planners are building various strategies to copy with a long-term absence of crowds from Premier League games.
And it's believed the worst scenario could even extend beyond February 2021 as the world battles to bring the deadly pandemic under control.