Man United have just announced a net loss of £113.2m for the 2023-2024 financial year. Last season, the Old Trafford team achieved impressive revenue but due to too much investment and old debts still outstanding, profits were still negative. They achieved revenue of up to £661.8m due to increased revenue from selling television copyrights.
When taking over the club, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team at INEOS were very clear about the need to deal with debt in the first few years. The urgent task was to balance income and expenditure and review all financial documents and papers. After stabilizing this somewhat, INEOS spent money on the transfer market to buy players and gradually consider building a new home stadium.
The last time Man United reported a profit was in 2019. Five years have passed, from the poor management of the old team led by Ed Woodward, to the time when COVID-19 swept through,... there are many reasons why Man United could not recover financially. As soon as he arrived at the team, the first thing Sir Jim did was to cut costs, focus on firing staff and gradually liquidate players who were no longer useful but received high salaries.
The clearest evidence is that since taking power, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's team has cut 250 jobs and sold many stars. In addition, the new transfer strategy is also very clear. Man United only recruits players under 25 years old, if they are exceptions, their salary is not high. This policy will be considered a guideline for many years to come for the club's scouting team.
In addition to the net loss, Man United's pre-tax loss was £130.7m. Under the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), a club's pre-tax profit or loss is the starting point for calculations. Under the PSR, English clubs cannot lose £105m in three consecutive years. Meanwhile, Man United's total pre-tax loss over the three-year PSR cycle last season was £312.9m.
In its calculation, PSR will not take into account expenses for community football, women's football, school football and social security activities of each club. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, all teams are losing money, so the Premier League can make concessions for the 3-year cycle (2021 to 2024). For its part, Man United is committed to always complying with the spending rules of the Premier League and UEFA.
“When I took over as CEO, everyone in the team worked hard to shape a bright future for the club with a focus on football performance.
The management team is aiming for greater financial sustainability. To achieve this, we need to make changes to our internal operations. Manchester United is looking to leverage the resources available to improve performance and achievement on the pitch.
Today, we are announcing some key takeaways for fiscal year 2025, including cost savings. This will be a significant part of the transformation of the organization. The team has been working all summer to achieve this balance," said Omar Berrada.
