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Poor performance on the pitch starts to catch up with United

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.

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.

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

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

Despite positive  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.

While this is a sixth consecutive loss for United, those losses are reducing, and the impact of redundancy programmes will be clearer in the 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.  Many fans feel the club will not progress until the Glazers finally depart.

 

 

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