Manchester United announce record revenue of £581m and £81m profit in latest Old Trafford financial report

  • Manchester United announce record revenues and profits in financial report
  • The Old Trafford club turned over £581.2m and made a profit of £80.8m
  • The club's net debt dropped from £260.9m to £213.1m during 2016-17

Manchester United announced record revenue and profit in their latest set of annual figures.

The Old Trafford club turned over a staggering £581.2million and banked £80.8m, accounts released on Thursday show.

Both figures break previous records of £515.3m turnover and £68.9m operating profit, which were set last year. 


Manchester United has announced a record revenue of £581m in their latest financial report

Manchester United has announced a record revenue of £581m in their latest financial report

United won the UEFA Europa League back in May, earning a Champions League return

United won the UEFA Europa League back in May, earning a Champions League return

The club's net debt, linked to the Glazer family's 2005 takeover, dropped from £260.9m to £213.1m thanks to cash in the bank. 

United’s gross debt however, remains the same while the wage bill – which excludes acquisitions following June 30 - rose by £31.3m to £263.5m, which represents the biggest outlay in the Premier League.

The report projects that United's revenue for 2018 will be between £575m and £585m but states that profits next year will be down thanks to an increased wage bill triggered by Champions League qualification and by the club missing out on around £10m by qualifying for the tournament by winning the Europa League rather than finishing in the top four.

Ed Woodward, executive vice-chairman, hailed the accounts and predicted a strong season on the field for Jose Mourinho’s side. 

Manager Jose Mourinho has been backed in the transfer market for a second successive year

Manager Jose Mourinho has been backed in the transfer market for a second successive year

‘We are pleased with the investment in our squad and look forward to an exciting season,' he added. ‘We believe he have improved the balance and depth of our squad and are well-placed to challenge for trophies.’

Elsewhere, United's commercial and sponsorship and retail revenues were up while mobile and content revenue decreased by £1.7m. Officials are understood to be letting a number of deals run down before boosting their own production of content and are set to launch an app in the near future.

United brought in £194.1m in broadcasting revenue, a big increase of £53.7m, thanks largely to the Premier League's new rights agreement and their progression to the Europa League final.

Manchester United have enjoyed a successful start to the season in both league and cup

Manchester United have enjoyed a successful start to the season in both league and cup

A dividend of £23.3m was paid out to shareholders, with the majority of that going to the six Glazer siblings, who own the club.

In a conference call, Woodward added that he hoped internet giants Amazon and Facebook would bid for broadcast rights in the future and said that there was a growing noise within the game to ensure clubs adhered by Financial Fair Play rules since August, when Paris St Germain paid a world record £198m for Neymar.

He also pointed out that 20 per cent of global subscribers to the club’s TV channel, MUTV, came from the US and said that the hashtag #mufc was the most tweeted in sport on social network Twitter. 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.