Record revenue from the stadium and commercial
Revenue from Old Trafford matches has increased sharply, reaching 160.3 million pounds, becoming the highest level ever recorded by a club in England. This is the result of the increasing number of spectators, increased ticket prices and expanded services on the competition day.
Meanwhile, commercial revenue also hit a new peak of £333.3m, thanks to the club's biggest ever funding deals and a new e-commerce model. These two sources of revenue have helped M.U compensate for the decline in television rights, which was directly affected by not qualifying for the Champions League.
However, despite setting a record in revenue, Manchester United still reported a loss of £33 million last season. This figure is lower than the previous season's loss of £113.2 million but still exposes the worrying financial situation as this is the 6th consecutive year the club has been operating in a deficit.
Revenue forecast for the 2025-2026 season
Man United's announcement also shows that expected revenue in the 2025-2026 season will be lower than this year, reaching only around 640-660 million pounds. This will be the first time in more than a decade that the team has not been present in any European arena.
This decline is predicted to be even smaller than the amount of money Man United earned from the journey to the Europa League 2025 final. That means the club are relying on other sources of improvement to make up for the revenue gap from the European Cup.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the cost-cutting strategy
Since Sir Jim took charge, Man United have implemented a series of restructuring measures to bring the club back to a profitable state.
A large-scale cut-off program has been implemented, with 450 staff fired, thereby helping the salary fund decrease to 313.2 million pounds - the lowest level since the 2019-2020 season. Man United's failure to participate in the Champions League also contributes to reducing salary costs, as many players have to accept a 25% reduction in income when absent from Europe's No. 1 playground.
However, the unusual cost is huge, reaching 36.6 million pounds, including compensation for the dismissal of Erik ten Hag and his crew, plus the cost of restructuring the apparatus.
Earlier this year, Sir Jim Ratcliffe warned Man United of the risk of "running out of money at Christmas" if he did not tightly control costs. To maintain liquidity, he himself pumped an additional £80 million in outstanding money into the club. Thanks to that, by the end of June, Man United's cash fund was still at £86.1 million.
Transfer spending record
The paradox is that right in the context of a tight schedule, Man United broke the spending record when spending up to 279 million pounds in cash on player purchases in the 2024-2025 season, nearly 60 million pounds higher than the previous record.
In an interview, Sir Jim Ratcliffe frankly admitted the unreasonableness of M.U's spending: "If we look at the players we bought this summer, they are actually still old deals like Antony, Casemiro, Onana, Hojlund, Sancho. We are paying in installments for those contracts.
The mountain of debt is still there
The report also shows that Man United's total principal has increased to £637 million, compared to £546.6 million before. This increase is partly due to the club's net borrowing of an additional £130 million through a revolving credit mechanism.
Although M.U did not withdraw additional loans in the period from March to the end of June, the upcoming detailed financial report could expose many new loans.
Meanwhile, pre-tax losses, a key factor in the Premier League's profit and sustainability regulations (PSR), are at £39.7m.
Ruben Amorim's position
Although the report focuses on finance, Amorim is still mentioned. The £36.6 million compensation does not include the £9.2 million paid to Sporting to bring him over Ten Hag last November. This cost is allocated according to the contract term.
However, Amorim is currently under great pressure. Man United have only won 31 points in 31 Premier League games under him, their worst run in 33 years. The Old Trafford team has been at the bottom of the rankings since the Portuguese coach was appointed. However, CEO Omar Berrada affirmed that Man United still maintains a long-term orientation with Amorim.
