Football: Manchester United post losses for fifth straight year ⁰

Manchester United on Wednesday posted net losses of £113.2 million ($148 million) for 2023/24 despite earning record revenues — their fifth straight year of losses.

In the year to June 30, 2024 the Premier League club recorded record revenues of £661.8 million — up 2.1 percent — driven by record commercial and matchday revenues.

United incurred costs of £47.8 million in “exceptional items”, mostly related to Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a minority stake in the club, which was completed in February.

United finished eighth in the Premier League in the 2023/24 season — their lowest finish since 1990 — and exited at the group stage of the Champions League.

But Erik Ten Hag’s men won the FA Cup — beating Manchester City in the final at Wembley for a second trophy in two years.

United have embarked on a major backroom shake-up in recent months, including bringing in a new chief executive, Omar Berrada, poached from Premier League champions Manchester City.

“As I embark on my new role as chief executive officer of this historic club, we are all extremely focused on working collectively to create a bright future with football success at the heart of it,” said Berrada.

“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.”

The Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules allow a maximum loss of £105 million over a three-season period, but within that certain losses are deemed “allowable” such as infrastructure, youth team and women’s team spending.

Everton and Nottingham Forest both incurred points deductions last season after being found to be in breach of PSR.

United, who have started the new Premier League season with two defeats in three matches, return to action at Southampton on Saturday.

Source: AFP