Manchester United’s overall debt remains above £1bn despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s extensive cost-cutting measures, and the club has confirmed it spent £63.5m buying land for its new stadium.
The figures sit alongside record revenues of £677.6m and a £22.6m operating profit, achieved even though United did not play in Europe for the first time in a decade. It marks a significant swing from a £113.2m loss in 2023-24.
That improvement has been accompanied by rising financing costs. Net finance costs for the year reached £69.6m, an increase of 228.3%, which the club attributed largely to a foreign exchange loss. According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, that sum alone has now exceeded £1bn since the leveraged Glazer family buyout in 2005.
United’s overall debt, while down from £1.3bn at the end of December, is still above £1bn. It is made up of the historic debt, which now stands at £577.6m, £111.4m outstanding on its revolving credit facility, and outstanding transfer fees which club sources say represent approximately 75% of the £473m listed as being owed under ‘trade and other payables’.
The money spent on stadium land came from an additional $125m (£94.14m) added to United’s historic debt during a summer refinancing move. The club has not explained what it has done with the remainder of that sum. The stadium itself is likely to cost in excess of £2bn and is to be built 350 yards away from where Old Trafford currently stands, with the loan lodged within club accounts.
The accounts arrive against a backdrop of fan protests and a disappointing start to the season that has left United 12th in the Premier League and already out of the EFL Cup. Supporters are furious about what they believe to be chronic under investment in Michael Carrick’s first-team squad. United spent £148m on three summer signings — Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans — less than a third of the £458m Manchester City invested in their squad and lower even than newly promoted Ipswich. Fans are also angry that no additional left-back was signed to provide competition for Luke Shaw, who has already missed three matches through injury, and that no striking support was brought in for Benjamin Sesko, who missed pre-season as he recovered from a shin complaint that has since resurfaced.
Chief executive Omar Berrada framed the results as evidence of progress. “We are pleased to have secured record revenues,” he said. “This demonstrates the underlying strength of our business, and shows the direct impact of the work we have been doing over the past two years. While these results confirm that we are on the right trajectory, we will continue to take a disciplined approach to ensure our finances remain sustainable. With that financial sustainability in mind, we have strengthened both our men’s and women’s teams during the summer window and our men’s team has seen the return of Champions League football to Old Trafford.”
Ratcliffe has previously argued the club had to take strong action to slash losses. Two rounds of redundancies led to 450 people losing their jobs, while United have confirmed their latest salary costs have reduced by £11.3m to £302m. The club said this was “primarily due to changes in the make-up of the men’s first team squad, combined with savings associated with headcount reduction programs implemented over the previous two fiscal years”.
United also saved £8.5m of a projected £16.5m pay-off to axed boss Ruben Amorim after he accepted a job at AC Milan. The club has also been criticised for a lack of investment in its Women’s Super League squad, which sits second bottom of the table with one point from three games.