Kieran Maguire: Man United chiefs ‘will not be happy’ after £97m announcement
Man United chiefs “will not be happy” at the level of wage spending at Old Trafford in relation to on-pitch performances.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider after United announced their second-quarter report for 2021-22.
The Red Devils lost £5.4million for the three months ended 31 December 2021, with revenues totalling £185.4m.
The earnings release showed that the club shelled out £97.7m in employee expenses over that period.
United brought Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane to Old Trafford on lucrative deals over the summer.
But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was dismissed as manager in November after an underwhelming start to 2021-22 with the firepower at his disposal.
Maguire claims that chiefs will want to see far greater sporting performance given the club’s monumental wage outlay.
“You have to strip out the one-off elements,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“That’s things such as manager compensation and financial costs. If you do that, the results were broadly solid.
“However, my main concern is that wages are accelerating faster than revenues.
“They are big enough to absorb it. But will the senior figures at the club feel they have had a good enough return on that investment in wages?
“Wages were £97m for the quarter. That’s an increase of 20 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
“That includes Ronaldo, Sancho, Varane. It reflects that they are prepared to pay the big bucks to recruit people.
“But they definitely will not be happy with the development and performances on the pitch.“
United are currently 4th in the Premier League under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
They are in action against league leaders Man City on Sunday (6 March).
In other news, Man United tipped by pundit to axe defender after Harry Maguire update before Man City.