Manchester United announce record revenue at £648.4m as 2022-23 accounts published | OneFootball

Manchester United have released their full accounts for the 2022-23 financial period.

United posted record full-year revenues of £648.4m, which is an impressive 11% increase from the previous financial year despite the fact Erik ten Hag’s men were playing in the Europa League last season.

The Red Devils’ have beaten their prior revenue record, which stood at £627m in the 2018/19 season when the team was in the Champions League.

United’s commercial revenues also exceeded the £300m mark for the first time, rising to £302.9m.

The 20-time English champions’ long-term debt remains unchanged at a whooping $650m.

It’s important to note that for the second time in a row, no dividends were paid. The paying of dividends to the Glazers is something United fans have criticised the owners for since their unpopular leveraged takeover in 2005.

Last year, it was revealed that the Glazers’ decision not to take dividends was partially motivated by the huge investment made into the team in order to back Ten Hag.

In the summer of 2022, United splashed £225.4m on new recruits. A strategic review that included a full or partial sale of the club was subsequently rolled out.

The process, which has lasted 11 months and is ongoing, pitted Sir Jim Ratcliffe against Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani. The latter’s recent withdrawal has left the door open for Sir Jim to swoop in and he is now set to win the race.

The INEOS billionaire is on track to complete a partial 25% investment into United, which is dependent on being granted full control of the Old Trafford outfit’s sporting operations.

An official announcement is still weeks away while the finer details of the arrangement are still being ironed out.

It’s important to note that despite posting record revenues, United have still registered a loss for 2022-23 period of £28.7m, which is a dramatic reduction from the £115.5m loss that was made in 2022.

The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell adds, “Employee benefit expenses (mainly player salaries) were £331.4m, a decrease of £52.8m (13.7%), due to cuts from not reaching the Champions League.”

Some of the key points announced by United include that the “club achieved record ticket sales and attendance, and highest ever number of paid global memberships.”

“[The] club announced an industry-leading kit deal with Adidas through 2035 in August and a new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon brand in September.”

“Season tickets for the current 2023/24 season sold out at the fastest rate ever with lowest ever churn.”

United also noted that the pre-season tour was extremely successful and attracted over 400,000 fans as spectators across eight cities in five countries.

The report also noted that signings made to both the men’s and women’s teams improved the team performance-wise and that helped boost revenues.