Manchester United Posts £115m Loss
Premier League football club Manchester United has revealed its latest financial figures which show the Red Devils’ annual losses increasing, despite an uplift in revenue.
The figures released incorporate the final quarter of United’s financial year, which ended in June, and showed losses rising by £23m on the previous year, resulting in a net loss of £115m for the 2021/22 season.
In more positive news, revenues did rise by 18% to £583m, with the normalisation of revenues following the COVID-19 pandemic. But this increase was not enough to generate a profit.
The club also saw its net debt rise by 22%, from £419.5m in 2021 to £514.9m this year, which United attribute primarily to the £64.6m of unrealised foreign exchange losses on the retranslation of borrowings in United States dollars.
“While there is a lot more work to do, everyone at the club is aligned on a clear strategy to deliver sustained success on the pitch and a sustainable economic model off it, to the mutual benefit of fans, shareholders, and other stakeholders.”
Richard Arnold, CEO, Manchester United
A big summer of signings in 2021 had a significant on the club’s wage bill. The signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane contributed to a 19.1% uplift, rising to £384.2m annually. The figure makes this the highest in Premier League history, surpassing the previous mark set by Manchester City’s £355m wage spend.
Manchester United Chief Financial Officer, Cliff Batty commented, “Our financial results for fiscal 2022 reflect a recovery from the pandemic, a full return of fans and new commercial partnerships offset by increased investment in the playing squad.”
“Our results have been adversely affected by the absence of a summer tour in July 2021, material exceptional and increased utility costs, and the impact of the weakening of sterling on our non-cash finance costs.”
Manchester United CEO, Richard Arnold, added, “Our core mission is to win football matches and entertain our fans.”
“Since our last earnings report, we have strengthened our men’s first-team squad, completed a successful summer tour, and established a foundation to build from in the early stages of the 2022/23 season under our new manager Erik ten Hag.
“We have also continued to develop our women’s team with an aim of reinforcing our position among the leading clubs in the Women’s Super League.
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