James Murray

Sun 6 April 2025 11:00, UK

Manchester United and Chelsea have caught the attention of various stakeholders in recent months as they continue to face significant financial challenges. 

The Premier League duo are looking to get back to the top of the English game after falling below their expected levels in recent years.

Man United haven’t won a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season at Old Trafford in 2012-13, while Chelsea’s last success came in 2016-17. 

Neither side are competing in the Champions League this season, leading to a drop in European revenue and the quality of players they have been able to attract. 

United posted a club-record revenue of £661.8million in 2023-24 despite recording a net loss of £113.2million.

Old Trafford chiefs sent a letter to fan groups in January warning them the club are at risk of breaking the profit and sustainability rules (PSR), with top-flight sides only permitted to make £105million of losses over a rolling three-year period.

That restricted their activity in the January transfer window, having spent just over £25million on signing Patrick Dorgu from Lecce and Ayden Heaven from Arsenal.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is currently considering funding options for the Manchester giants’ new stadium, which is expected to cost around £2billion and take at least five years to build.

With United already in around £1billion of debt, questions have been asked about how they can afford to build a new 100,000-seater facility while attempting to turn their fortunes around on the pitch. 

Man United could match £175m+ Chelsea deal

Chelsea are also considering plans for a new stadium, but the challenges of building in west London appear to be more of a problem than sourcing the necessary finances.

BlueCo, which is spearheaded by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s Behdad Eghbali, has spent more than £1.5billion on new signings since purchasing the club from Roman Abramovich for £4.25billion in May 2022.

The ownership group has exploited loopholes in the Premier League’s financial rules over the past couple of years to avoid a potential PSR breach.

Chelsea sold two Stamford Bridge hotels to BlueCo in 2023 for a total of £77million to ensure their pre-tax losses fell from potentially as high as £166million to £90million for 2022-23.

Chelsea then sold their women’s team to BlueCo last summer, helping them turn their previous £90million loss into a £128million profit for 2023-24, with the deal believed to be worth more than £175million.

Their revenue fell from £513million to £469million, but that was largely down to their lack of European football last season.

United chiefs have surely been watching this situation unfold and could be considering whether this is a viable option for them given their PSR issues.

While the ownership structure is different at Old Trafford, with the Glazers holding a 48.9 per cent share and Ratcliffe owning 29 per cent, selling the club’s women’s team could provide an instant boost to their finances. 

Man United could soon exploit Premier League loophole

Deloitte’s 2025 Money League revealed Chelsea Women generated £11.4million in revenue last season, while Man United Women’s turnover came in at £9.1million.

Although Chelsea Women are more established and have recorded more success in the WSL over the years, there is no reason why Man United Women wouldn’t also be worth a significant amount of money if a sale were to take place.

However, time could be of the essence to push through such a deal as the Premier League tried – and failed – to close the loophole last summer and could be planning to hold a vote on the matter again in the near future.

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