United's finances plateau

From 2012, Manchester United’s revenue grew year on year, other than a slight dip in 2015, until it hit a record £627.1 million for the year ending June 2019. It then dropped to £509 million in 2020 and again to £494.1 million in their latest set of annual accounts (2021).

Despite failing to achieve sustained success on the pitch in the past decade, United were still able to generate huge sums of money because of their illustrious history.

But with interest payments on their debt — servicing the Glazer family’s leveraged buyout in 2005 — over the last decade understood to total £282 million and dividend pay-outs since 2016 hitting £122 million, the club’s losses are being accelerated.

United will point to the fact that paying the dividends has not dented their ability to invest over £1 billion since 2013 and that the percentage is small when compared to overall revenue. And, although the Glazers receive the overwhelming majority of the cash, the dividends also go to pension funds, smaller investors and supporters.

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire commented, “So we’ve seen commercial revenue plateau since 2016 and it is becoming harder and harder because United are relying on their history to generate deals rather than the present.”

Maguire calculates their player-sales profit from 2014-21 was only £101 million, compared to Manchester City’s £228 million, Liverpool’s £370 million and Chelsea’s £568 million.

Not only have United fallen behind their domestic rivals in terms of finances generated via player trading but they have also become bit-part players in the Champions League.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager at the end of the 2012-13 season, following their most recent title triumph, United have only finished fourth or better in the Premier League four times, and they are yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition under any of the Scot’s five successors.

But, contrary to what Woodward said in 2018, it does matter what happens on the pitch — and United’s accounts are beginning to reflect that.

At a time when their rivals — namely Liverpool and City — experience financial growth, United appear to have plateaued.