Manchester United’s revenue falls by nearly 12%

Business

Manchester United’s revenue fell by nearly 12% in the six months to December, largely because of the club’s absence from the Champions League.

Broadcasting revenue fell by 33.4% over the period, although commercial revenue rose by 6.5% and matchday revenue remained largely the same.

For 2020, the club expects its total revenue to be between £560m and £580m.

Ed Woodward, the team’s executive vice-chairman, said the team had made “progress on our squad rebuild”.

He added that the players the club had signed and others who had come through its academy had put in place “the foundation for delivering the long-term success that we are all working towards”.

The club’s total revenue for the six-month period was £303.8m. The drop in broadcasting figures was not a surprise, given the club’s absence from the Champions League.

However, Mr Woodward hopes that will be put right next season, adding: “We are pushing for a strong finish in the Premier League, the Europa League and the FA Cup as we enter the final third of the season.”

For the year to July 2019, the club announced a record revenue figure of £627m – a figure that saw it drop to third, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, in the annual Deloitte’s Football Money League.

The club’s figures also revealed a rise in the number of employees at the end of last year to 979 from 937 the previous year.