Man Utd announce record annual revenues

Manchester United announced a record annual turnover of £590 million ($776.4m) on Tuesday, with executive vice-chair Ed Woodward hailing the returns as further proof of the club’s drive to be the leading light both on and off the football field.

United’s rise in revenues is thanks to their increased broadcasting income over the 12 months ending June 30, 2018, with their second-place finish in the Premier League last season under Jose Mourinho compared to sixth the previous year accounting for a significant rise.

There was also a slight year-on-year increase in commercial revenue to £276.1m, with sponsorship providing a £1.7m gain ahead of Woodward’s summer deals to add Kohler, Chivas and MoPlay to the long list of United’s partner sponsors.

While there was a slight decrease in matchday takings, this is partly as a result of United playing fewer home games in Europe last term due to their Round of 16 exit from the Champions League one year on from going all the way in the Europa League.

Woodward commented upon the release of the latest figures: “Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to add to Manchester United’s 66 and Jose’s 25 trophies. That is what our passionate fans and our history demands.

“We are committed to our philosophy of blending top academy graduates with world-class players and are proud that, once again, last season we had more academy graduate minutes on the pitch than any other Premier League club.

“Our increased revenue expectation for the year demonstrates our continued strong long-term financial performance which underpins everything we do and allows us to compete for top talent in an increasingly competitive transfer market.”

United signed a total of seven new sponsorship deals in the last 12 months, with the agreement with Kohler seeing the club’s shirts carrying a sleeve sponsor for the first time in their history.

Elsewhere there was the successful launch of the club’s official app, while the beginning of a new UEFA club competitions cycle is set to reward clubs with even greater revenues in the seasons beginning 2018-19.

United are also expecting to see a rise in distribution as a result of changes to the Premier League deal which comes into effect in 2019-20, while there is likely to be a boost as a result of the launch this summer of the Manchester United Women’s team in the Women’s Championship.