Manchester United hit record annual revenue for the 2022/23 season in new figures just announced, despite playing in the Europa League during the campaign.
As UEFA’s secondary club competition, the Europa League is less lucrative than the Champions League. However, despite a slight drop in broadcast revenue as a result, United saw a significant increase in both advertising and matchday revenue streams to compensate.
Overall, the club raised £648.4m in the 12 months ending 30 June 2023.
In 2022/23, the wage bill was reduced by £52.8m due to automatic clauses in player contracts if they failed to qualify for the Champions League. But even with reduced wages and record earnings, the account balance still had a small operating loss of £11.2m.
Man Utd has set optimistic figures for the end of 2023/24 / Michael Regan/GettyImages
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No dividends are believed to have been taken by the Glazer family, with £33.6m paid out last year.
United are already expecting other record income in 2023/24, possibly up to £ 680m, after returning to the Champions League. A lucrative new sponsor agreement with the Qualcomm brand Snapdragon begins next summer, but the renewal of the Adidas costume agreement will also begin from 2025.
Almost a year after the Glazer family announced they were considering “strategic options”, the club is set to see Sir Jim Ratcliffe become a minority owner with a 25% but hands-on role. The INEOS billionaire saw off competition from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim and plans to expand and promote the company’s sports division as one of his main projects.
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