‘Here’s the bigger picture’ on Man United’s finances, and why there’s some positive news’
Manchester United’s huge debt won’t be going anywhere unless there’s a change of ownership at Old Trafford.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who has exclusively told Football Insider that Man United also need to return to the Champions League to aid their financial position.
Man United’s first-quarter financial results showed that debt is continuing to rise, with over £500million in outstanding payments owed.
Manager Ruben Amorim has been told he must qualify for the Champions League, while supporters may see ticket prices rise at Old Trafford in a bid to fight United’s worsening financial concerns.
Man United ‘cash reserves healthy’ despite debt problems
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley explains why the overall financial picture for Man United is not overly concerning.
“I think we’ve got to look at the overall picture here as well as much as we’ll focus on the debts. That debt will continue to blur its background for sure,” Plumley said.
“But we roughly knew that figure anyway, as we know how the club has operated from a debt perspective certainly since the Glazers bought the club. And the other thing to look for in this set of quarterly reports is the wage bill is down significantly.
“That links to some of the players that they managed to offload recently. Cash reserves are pretty healthy. I think success on the pitch needs to follow. And I mean, Man United success on the pitch, they’ve got to get back into the Champions League.
“They don’t want to be too many years out of that competition and, you know, at some point, we’ll start to talk about them winning things again. But in the bigger picture financially, you would say they’re okay, and the debt is always going to be there at the minute, just depending on how the club is being run.
“And ultimately, without a full change of ownership, that’s not going to go away, so they’ve got to manage that. Some of the other figures have shifted in the right direction for them given where they’re at the moment.”
Man United face cost of new project
Owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe also wants Man United to build a new stadium, which could cost the club up to £2billion.
The Red Devils want the stadium to hold up to 100,000 spectators, which would make it the biggest in the Premier League.
The ground will remain on the site of Old Trafford, with the club projecting to have moved into the stadium for the 2030-31 season.