MX23RW : Monday, September 30 21:36:55| >> :120:4068:4068:

Manchester United net debt rises by more than 55%

Revenue is up by £400,000 on the same period last year but the club are expecting the 2020 annual results to be down.

Manchester United have posted revenues of £135.4million for the first quarter of 2019-20.

The figures represent a £400,000 increase on the same period for the previous year.

Commercial revenue was £80.4million, a 5.9 per cent increase on the previous year, the club said in a financial statement.

United are expecting 2020 annual revenue to be down this year to somewhere between £560-580million, compared to £627.1million for the year ending June 30, 2019.

In part that will be due to the club's lack of Champions League football this season. Broadcasting revenue for the quarter was £32.9million, a 23.1 per cent and £9.9million drop on the same quarter the year before.

The figures published on Monday cover the period July 1, 2019 to September 30 of this year.

One of the most eye-catching points on the balance sheet is the increase of net debt, from £247.2million to £384.5million, a rise of 55.5 per cent.

The club's wage bill has dropped by 8.8 per cent "primarily due to reductions in player salaries as a result of non-participation in the UEFA Champions League", the statement said.

United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: "We have a clear vision in terms of football philosophy and recruitment.

"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.

Marcus Rashford came through the club's academy
Marcus Rashford came through the club's academy (Martin Rickett/PA)

"Our ultimate goal is to win trophies by playing exciting football with a team that fuses graduates from our academy with world-class acquisitions."

United's on-field fortunes have improved in recent weeks after pressure had been growing on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The team have won five of their last six matches in all competitions, and prior to that claimed a 1-1 draw at league leaders Liverpool.

They are seventh in the Premier League, nine points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.

ID:379796: cacheID:379796:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5532:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Tahith Chong in action during the FA Cup third-round game between Manchester United and Reading on January 5, 2019
Read Next:
Man United 'confident of keeping Chong'
>
Read more about Ed Woodward Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bills
10-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool65011221015
2Manchester CityMan City6420146814
3Arsenal6420125714
4Chelsea6411157813
5Aston Villa6411129313
6Fulham632185311
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle632187111
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs6312125710
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton623110829
10Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest62316519
11Bournemouth622289-18
12Brentford6213810-27
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd621358-37
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham6123610-45
15Ipswich TownIpswich6042510-54
16Everton6114715-84
17Leicester CityLeicester6033812-43
18Crystal Palace603359-43
19Southampton6015312-91
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves6015616-101


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!