Stefan Borson: This is when Man United will undertake ‘money-spinning trip’ to Saudi Arabia
Manchester United have a significant hole in their accounts to fill following their on-field performances.
Man United secured a 2-0 victory over rivals Manchester City on Saturday (17 January), moving Michael Carrick’s side up to fifth in the Premier League table.
However, the 20-time English champions are unable to win a trophy this season after being dumped out of every competition following their FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
The Telegraph reported on 12 January the early cup exits could strengthen the prospect of Man United playing a money-spinning mid-season friendly.
The newspaper revealed Man United’s matchday revenue is set to drop by around £53million this season, with a maximum of 20 home games to be played at Old Trafford, 10 fewer than the 2024-25 campaign.
How Man United will mitigate significant loss in their accounts
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Man United will play mid-season friendlies in Saudi Arabia next month to mitigate some of the loss in matchday revenue.
It is understood Man United could earn around £5m per game in the Middle Eastern country.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “I think the FA Cup thing is just another nail financially in this season’s profit and loss. They’ll fill it by going to Saudi Arabia. I mean, they’ve got a big gap in February.
“They’ll go to Saudi Arabia, and presumably they’ll do a couple of games in Saudi Arabia and that’ll mitigate some of the loss. I don’t think they can do a post-season friendly this year, just because of the World Cup. I’m not 100 per cent sure, but it looks unlikely.
“Versus last year, the Saudi friendly, if they do it, is probably only going to fill the friendly that they put in last year at the end of the season. Like for like, they’re going to be well down on the number of home games, and it is going to impact revenue.”
How failing to qualify for Europe has impacted Man United
Borson insisted not having European football is the key driver behind Man United’s anticipated drop in matchday revenue, which stood at £160.3m last season.
“I think the damage has been done really by not having any Europe,” said Borson.
“Europe’s the key one because either you’re in the Champions League, in which case people talk about four games from the group games, but the reality is most of the English teams are going to have the group and a play-off game as well, so it’s five games minimum really in the Champions League.
“It’s actually even more in the Europa League because most of these teams are going to go at least to the quarter-finals, so it could be seven or eight home games. So, the key differentiator is Champions League rather than the domestic English cups.”
Man United generate the second-highest revenue in the Premier League after their turnover increased from £661.8m in 2023-24 to £666.5m last season.
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