Manchester United’s absence from the Champions League this season and costs related to their redundancy programme contributed to the club making an operating loss of £6.9m for the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year.
United finished eighth under former manager Erik ten Hag last season – their lowest-ever Premier League placing – to miss out on Europe’s top club competition.
That has resulted in a 20.4 per cent drop in broadcasting revenue in the quarter ending September 30 (£31.3m), compared to the corresponding quarter last year (£39.3m).
United’s FA Cup win last term means they are competing in this season’s Europa League instead.
Man Utd beat Man City to lift the FA Cup in May
Commercial revenue was also down 5.6 per cent in the quarter from £90.4m to £85.3m, with matchday revenue decreasing by 3.3 per cent – £27.4m to £26.5m.
The club recorded an exceptional cost of £8.6m in these figures which they said “comprises costs incurred in relation to the restructuring of the group’s operations, including the redundancy scheme implemented in the first quarter of financial year 2025”.
United have previously said they expect the restructuring will lead to savings of between £40m and £45m, which they anticipate will have a positive impact on their financial results for 2025 and 2026.
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Gary Neville says the lack of energy in Manchester United’s performance against Ipswich Town is an issue for Ruben Amorim
United posted a £1.9m profit in the same quarter last year, but ended the period with net losses of £113.2m.
The club said in September they remained confident they were compliant with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules, which permit maximum non-allowable losses of £105m over three seasons.
United’s wage bill was down by £10.1m to £80.2m for the quarter. The club attributed this 11.2 per cent drop “primarily to changes in the make-up of the first-team playing squad”.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a minority stake in Man Utd last February
The club’s chief executive Omar Berrada said United’s cost and headcount reductions remained “on track”, as did work to renovate the club’s Carrington training ground.
He confirmed a taskforce weighing up the benefits of redeveloping Old Trafford or building a new stadium on adjacent land was continuing its work.
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Manchester United defenders Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui reflect on Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge and insist that there will be improvements after the club’s worst ever start to a Premier League season after 12 games
“Once it has delivered its recommendations, we will then take some time to digest them and evaluate all our options in the upcoming year,” Berrada said.
The taskforce is chaired by World Athletics president Lord Coe and also features former United defender Gary Neville.
The club are predicting total revenue for 2025 of between £650m and £670m.
‘Man Utd accounts a mixed bag’
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“It’s a mixed bag, but the bottom line is that even though United lost money last year, their revenue was a record £662m.
“They say that they are still on track for their revenue next year being somewhere between £650m and £670m.
“There were exceptional items listed in the accounts. One of those was £8.6 million spent on restructuring costs, including a redundancy scheme having made 250 people redundant.”
