Manchester United have announced their net debt has increased by almost £140m in their latest financial figures, even after posting another revenue increase for the first quarter of 2019-20.
The startling increase in debt levels from £247.2m to £384.5m, a rise of 55.5 per cent, will do little to appease disgruntled fans, unhappy with the way the club is run by the Glazer family owners and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
United have posted revenues of £135.4m for the first quarter of 2019-20 which represents a £400,000 increase on the same period for the previous year.
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Commercial revenue was £80.4m, a 5.9 per cent increase on the previous year, but the club are expecting 2020 annual revenue to be down this year to somewhere between £560-580m, compared to £627.1m for the year ending June 30, 2019, even though the club’s wage bill has dropped slightly.
In part that will be due to the club’s lack of Champions League football this season. Broadcasting revenue for the quarter was £32.9m, a 23.1 per cent and £9.9m drop on the same quarter the year before.
“We have a clear vision in terms of football philosophy and recruitment,” Woodward said. “The significant investments that we have made in recent years in areas such as transfers, recruitment infrastructure, analytics and our academy are already beginning to bear fruit.
“We are very proud to be shortly approaching a milestone 4,000th game featuring an academy player, and we are particularly optimistic regarding the considerable young talent currently coming through.
“Our ultimate goal is to win trophies by playing exciting football with a team that fuses graduates from our academy with world-class acquisitions.”
