Manchester United finances explained: Record revenues but sixth annual loss

Manchester United recorded the highest revenues in the club’s history last season despite not competing in the Champions League, yet still posted a sixth consecutive annual loss.

The Old Trafford club’s 2024-25 financial results reveal that total revenues stood at £666.5m after significant increases in matchday and commercial income.

Matchday takings rose to £160.3m — a record for an English team — and commercial income hit £333.3m, to offset declining broadcasting income from the failure to qualify for the Champions League.

United nevertheless recorded a loss of £33m last season — down from a £113.2m in the previous year, but still representing their sixth straight year in the red.

And despite record turnover last season, United’s announcement details an expected drop in income this season, with revenue forecast at between £640m and £660m for 2025-26.

United’s top line is expected to suffer from a first season without European football in over a decade. The projected drop is however less than the club earned from a run to this year’s Europa League final, meaning revenue improvements elsewhere are built into club forecasts.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United’s minority owner, has overseen a range of cost-cutting measures since acquiring control of the club’s day-to-day business from the Glazer family in a bid to make the club profitable again.

A restructuring programme — which saw up to 450 job cuts — and no Champions League qualification was responsible for United’s wage bill falling to £313.2m, its lowest level since the 2019-2020 season.

Yet United’s exceptional costs stood at £36.6m following the dismissal of manager Erik ten Hag and his staff, as well as the restructuring of the club’s operations.

Earlier this year, Ratcliffe claimed that United were at risk of “running out of money” by Christmas if they did not cut costs across the club’s operations.

United’s cash reserves stood at £86.1m at the end of June, although only after an £80m injection of Ratcliffe’s own money at the turn of the year.

United spent £279m in cash on gross transfer payments for players last season — a single-season club record by nearly £60m.

In an interview with BBC Sport earlier this year, Ratcliffe lamented the amount of money United were still paying in installments for players signed in previous years.

“If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying (Andre) Onana, we’re buying (Rasmus) Hojlund, we’re buying (Jadon) Sancho,” he said.

United’s gross debt totalled £637.0m — up from £546.6m, in part due to borrowing a net figure of £130m from their revolving credit facility over the course of the year.

United did not make any further drawdown on their revolving credit facility between March and the end of June, although the imminent, more detailed annual report may reveal borrowings beyond that date.

United’s pre-tax loss — the starting point for calculations under the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules – stood at £39.7m last season.

However, as revealed by The Athletic, United’s PSR calculations are based on accounts of subsidiary company Red Football Ltd, rather than these results at the New York Stock Exchange-listed plc.

‘Cost cuts negated by expensive mistakes’

Analysis by football finance writer Chris Weatherspoon

United posting record revenues in a year without Champions League football reinforces a message long known: they are not like other clubs.

Even as broadcast income fell £48.8m, United still booked £666.5m turnover, the third highest figure ever for an English club. Only Manchester City have previously surpassed that figure, in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.

There is a caveat. For all United’s revenue growth is newsworthy, years of poor on-field performance are catching up with them. While we can’t say for certain until others release 2024-25 financials, United are likely to have dropped to at least third, and possibly fourth, when it comes to revenue rankings in England. Liverpool are expected to have joined City in topping £700m turnover; Arsenal may also have gone past United’s top line figure.

If they have, it will be the first time in the Premier League era United’s revenue has been outside the top three, and only the second time outside the top two. In the current 2025-26 season, United project flat or even declining revenues, underscoring how poor performance is now allowing several rivals to overtake them financially.

Things would have been worse without improvements elsewhere. Commercial income grew by 10 per cent and United’s matchday income of £160.3m is a club and English record by a long way, £23.2m (17 per cent) higher than 2023-24.

Yet that still highlights the damage of no Champions League football. United played 30 games at Old Trafford last season, generating £5.3m in matchday income per game, a drop on the £5.5m of a year earlier. Average matchday takings are however up £1.2m (29 per cent) since 2022-23, because of increased ticket prices.

Job cuts have been the big story at United since Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrived in February 2024 and, on the face of it, a £51.5m (14 per cent) reduction in the wage bill reflects the significant redundancy programme undertaken at Old Trafford.

Yet that drop is also attributable to a lack of Champions League bonuses and, what’s more, is actually smaller than the £52.8m fall in the wage bill which occurred the last time United missed out on the Champions League in 2022-23.

Moreover, United’s bottom line continued to suffer from poor decision-making. £10.4m went on sacking Erik Ten Hag and staff in October 2024, less than four months after the club triggered a contract extension. Removing Dan Ashworth after just five months as sporting director cost a further £4.1m

Cost cuts have made a difference, but their impact is negated by expensive mistakes.

Player amortisation costs rose to over £190m, reflecting how much United continue to spend on transfers. Only Chelsea have topped that figure in England before.

United’s transfer debt number won’t be released until the full accounts are, but the drain on resources of heavy spending is clear from Wednesday’s announcement. United spent £279m cash on transfer fees across 2024-25, nearly £60m more than their previous high mark in 2019-20.

Among English clubs only Chelsea and possibly Manchester City (who no longer publish a cash flow statement) have ever paid out more in a single year than United did last season. Unlike those two, United have relatively little coming back the other way. Their net cash spend on transfers in 2024-25 was £230m, taking their five-year net transfer outflow to £685.5m.

Financial debt is never far from peoples’ minds when discussing United’s finances but, at least for today, there’s nothing new to report. Positive exchange rate movements mean the club’s $650m long-term debt reduced in value on the books, but the actual amount owed to US lenders remains unchanged.

Despite exchange movements, United’s overall debt in Sterling is up on a year ago, a result of them dipping into revolving credit facilities (RCFs) across 2024-25. Borrowings on those sat at £160m at the end of June, £130m higher than June 2024 even after £50m was repaid at the end of April.

As The Athletic detailed in August, there’s the possibility United dipped back into the RCFs to help fund another £200m-plus summer transfer spend. A new charge in favour of Bank of America, security trustee across the existing RCFs, appeared on 10 July.

Whether that comprised more lending, and thus United’s debt growing higher than the £637m detailed at the end of June, won’t be known until the full 2024-25 accounts are released. Those are expected on Thursday.

While this is a sixth consecutive loss for United, those losses are reducing, and the impact of redundancy programmes will be clearer in coming years. Ignoring exceptional items, which include the Ten Hag and Ashworth removals, shows an operating loss which halved from £60m to £30m. The wage bill is at its lowest since 2019-20.

Yet 2025-26 is projected to be the fourth year running of revenues in the £640-670m range, all as rivals continue to grow. Debt is up rather than down. There is plenty of work still to be done at Old Trafford.

(Photo of CEO Omar Berrada and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

Click here to read article