Manchester United have been able to escape punishment for breaching Premier League financial rules despite reporting a loss of £113.3million last season.
Top-flight clubs are allowed to lose up to 105m over a three-year period under Profit and Sustainability Rules. But United’s latest figures took them well above that mark with a total in excess of £250m.
Nevertheless, the club have managed to avoid a charge and even confirmed that they are ‘in compliance with’ both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s financial rulings.
Last month, football finance expert Stefan Borson outlined two ‘exceptional allowances’ that were given to the club and his claim has been backed up by a recent report.
Man United have undergone a period of significant change in the last 12 months. The arrival of new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS has seen the British billionaire shake things up at Old Trafford, from board level right down to matchday staff.
Man United have undergone a period of significant change in the last 12 months. The arrival of new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe ( left) and INEOS
United’s Covid losses claim of £40million was significantly higher than any other Premier League outfit
Erik ten Hag has still seen substantial investment in his side since joining the club in 2022
United are also undergoing a £50m training ground refurbishment and there has been much talk that the club could build a new 100,000-seat stadium.
The club was also permitted to make a £40m Covid claim, which first came to light last year. The Red Devils’ huge claim was reportedly double all the other 19 Premier League clubs combined.
Everton, who were deducted a total of eight points for two PSR breaches last term, claimed Covid losses of £8m for the 2021-22 season. The Times report that the comparatively astronomical sum was due to the cancellation of their summer tour and ‘bad debts caused by the insolvency of a commercial partner.’
Additionally, the club has been given an allowance for the costs incurred during Ratcliffe’s minority purchase of shares from the Glazer family.
As Borson explained in a interview with talkSPORT last month: ‘On top of that it seems they’ve been given allowance for around £35m of exceptional costs relating to the share sale to (INEOS CEO Sir Jim) Ratcliffe which to be honest, the Glazers should have paid that themselves anyway given they were the main beneficiary.
‘But we know from the numbers that it was £35m and the only way in which they can make the 23/24 PSR numbers and this is not just my view but the view of multiple people who run the numbers, is by having these allowances.’ In their report, The Times claim United’s results show a sum of almost £40m.
Speaking as United released their latest financial figures, CEO Omar Berrada – who was brought in from rivals Manchester City in July – insisted that the recruitment of new sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox, the £50million revamp of the training ground, and the £200m spent on new signings this summer, demonstrate the club’s commitment to giving 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 men’s first team with five exciting players and put a new football leadership structure in place to provide greater support to our manager, Erik ten Hag.
‘Dan Ashworth was appointed sporting director and Jason Wilcox joined us as technical director, two extremely experienced and highly respected professionals who will add great depth to our team.
‘We have added six players to our women’s team and are investing to ensure all of our teams have access to world-class training facilities at a fully renovated Carrington.
‘We are also delighted to have extended our principal partnership with Snapdragon, after an excellent start, for a further two years in addition to the initial three-year term.
United CEO Omar Berrada (left) reiterated the club’s support for Ten Hag, who remains under pressure after a slow start to the season
‘As I embark on my new role as chief executive officer of this historic club, we are all extremely focused on working collectively to create a bright future with football success at the heart of it.
‘We are working towards greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, to ensure we are directing our resources to enhancing on-pitch performance.
‘Today, we announce new guidance for fiscal 2025 which reflects a partial year impact of the transformative cost-savings and organisational changes that we have been busy implementing over the summer.’