Manchester United have avoided punishment for breaching Premier League financial rules despite losing £113.3m last season.
Top clubs are allowed to lose up to £105m over a three-year period under the Profit and Sustainability Rules. But United’s latest figures put them well above that limit, with a total of more than £250m.
Despite this, the club managed to avoid charges and even confirmed that they were ‘in compliance’ with the financial decisions of both the Premier League and UEFA.
Last month, football financier Stefan Borson described two “exceptional grants” the club received, a claim backed up by a recent report.
Man United have undergone a period of significant change over the past 12 months. The arrival of new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS has seen the British billionaire shake up Old Trafford from the boardroom to matchday staff.
Man United have undergone a period of major change over the past 12 months with the arrival of new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) and INEOS
United’s £40m Covid loss claim was significantly higher than any other Premier League club
Erik ten Hag has continued to see substantial investment in his squad since joining the club in 2022
United are also in the process of a £50million renovation of their training complex and there is much talk about the possibility of the club building a new 100,000-seater stadium.
The club was also allowed to file a £40m Covid claim, which first came to light last year. The Red Devils’ huge claim was reportedly double that of all the other 19 Premier League clubs combined.
Everton, who dropped a total of eight points last season due to two PSR breaches, claimed a Covid-related loss of £8m for the 2021-22 season. The Times reporting that the relatively astronomical sum was the result of the cancellation of their summer tour and ‘bad debts caused by the bankruptcy of a commercial partner.’
In addition, the club has received compensation for the costs incurred when Ratcliffe, as a minority shareholder, purchased the shares from the Glazer family.
As Borson explained in an interview with talkSPORT last month: ‘In addition, it appears they were given an allowance of around £35m in exceptional costs relating to the share sale to (INEOS CEO Sir Jim) Ratcliffe. In fairness, the Glazers should have paid that amount themselves anyway as they were the major beneficiary.
‘But we know from the figures it was £35m and the only way they can get to the 23/24 PSR figures, and that’s not just my opinion but the opinion of several people who run the figures, is by using these allowances.’ In their report, The Times claims that United’s results show a figure of almost £40m.
As United released their latest financial figures, chief executive Omar Berrada, who joined from rivals Manchester City in July, insisted that the recruitment of new sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox, the £50m refurbishment of the training complex and the £200m spent on new players this summer showed the club was committed to providing greater support to manager Erik ten Hag.
“It has been a busy off-season for the club with successful training camps for both our men’s and women’s teams,” said Berrada. “We have strengthened our first men’s team with five exciting players and put in place a new football leadership structure to provide further support to our manager, Erik ten Hag.
‘Dan Ashworth has been appointed Sporting Director and Jason Wilcox has joined us as Technical Director. They are two highly experienced and respected professionals who will be a great addition to our team.
‘We have added six players to our women’s team and are investing to ensure all our teams have access to world-class training facilities at the fully refurbished Carrington.
“We are also very pleased to have extended our partnership with Snapdragon for an additional two years, on top of the original three-year term, after an excellent start.
United CEO Omar Berrada (left), pictured with Dave Brailsford, reiterated the club’s support for Ten Hag, who remains under pressure after a slow start to the season
‘As I take on my new role as CEO of this historic club, we are all extremely focused on creating a bright future together, with football success at its core.
‘We are working towards greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, ensuring we use our resources to improve performance on the field.
“Today we are announcing new guidance for fiscal year 2025, which partially reflects the impact of the transformative cost savings and organizational changes we implemented this past summer.”