It’s been a turbulent year for Manchester United and their fans.
FA Cup victory aside, there’s not been an awful lot for them to get excited about on the pitch, as Louis van Gaal and then Jose Mourinho have failed to get anything in the way of consistency out of the team.
With the team preparing to face Arsenal on Saturday afternoon, it’s now emerged that the result of the EU Referendum has also taken its toll on the club.
June’s vote in favour of Brexit has seen United’s debts – which came as a result of the Glazer family takeover in 2005 – climb by 18% thanks to the fall in the value of the pound.
The debt has now reached £338m in the first quarter of their financial year.
On a slightly more positive note, United announced on Thursday that their commercial revenue had risen to £74.3m, up £3.1m on the previous quarter. Sponsorship revenue fell to £44.4m (down £1.9m), largely due to United playing fewer games on this year’s preseason tour of China.
United’s broadcasting revenue climbed £1.5m to £29.1m, due to the lucrative new Premier League TV deal, but matchday revenue at Old Trafford was £16.8m, down £8m, due to United three fewer home games.
Altogether, total revenue figures for the latest quarter stood at £120.2m, representing a drop of 2.8%.
“While our financial results for this quarter reflect the impact of our non-participation in the UEFA Champions League, we are pleased that we remain on track to deliver record revenues for the coming year,” said United’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward.
“During the quarter we added a number of top quality players to our squad, which once again demonstrates our determination to challenge for trophies.”
