Manchester United’s losses grew to £113.2m last season due to the cost of selling a stake to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and investment in players failing to translate into Premier League success.
It followed net losses in the previous two years of £28.7m and £115.5m, putting a spotlight on the club’s compliance with football’s profit and sustainability regulations.
Premier League clubs are only allowed to lose £105m in a rolling three-year period but within that allowable losses for spending on infrastructure – which is much-needed at Old Trafford – as well as the youth and women’s teams.
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United said in a statement: “The club remains committed to, and in compliance with, both the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations.”
The results to the year ending 30 June did show a record annual revenue of £661.8m – underscoring the club’s enduring appeal to sponsors and fans despite the challenge to be competitive on the pitch.
While the men’s FA Cup was won by beating Manchester City, United finished eighth, 31 points behind their cross-city rivals and four-time defending champions in the Premier League to miss out on lucrative Champions League qualification.
INEOS bought a 27.7% stake in the club that is still ultimately controlled by the Glazer family.
United believe the £47.8m cost of bringing in INEOS and their strategic review will produce long-term benefits while benefiting from Sir Jim’s cash injection, hitting $300m by the end of the year.
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Spending will be partly on facilities, including the training ground, as much as the football teams.
Newly-appointed CEO Omar Berrada said: “We are working towards greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, to ensure we are directing our resources to enhancing on-pitch performance.”
Cost-savings have already started to be implemented with around 250 redundancies which United say will cost £10m but contribute to annual savings of £40m-£45m in 2025 and 2026.
But the wage bill did rise last year by 10% to £364.7m, partly due to the bonuses related to playing in the Champions League rather than the second-tier Europa League a year earlier.
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United won the last of their record 20 Premier League titles in 2013 and have also not won the Champions League since the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
There was also a decline last season in the women’s team, which won the FA Cup but dropped from second to fifth in the league to miss out on European qualification.
Berrada said: “Our clear objective is to return the club to the top of European football.
“Everyone at the club is aligned on a clear strategy to deliver sustained success both on and off the pitch, for the ultimate benefit of our fans, shareholders, and hugely diverse range of stakeholders.”
