Manchester United Plc (NYSE:MANU) said it has not broken any Premier League financial fair play rules despite a fifth straight year of losses.
Under the league rules, losses cannot total more than £105 million over three years to stop big teams ‘buying success’, but ManU posted a deficit of £113 million in the year to June 2024 despite record revenues of £661 million.
Losses this time included £47.8 million related to the acquisition of a 27.7% stake in the club by chemicals billionaire Jim Ratcliffe (pictured).
Some losses are deemed ‘allowable’ such as infrastructure and the youth team and women’s teams and ManU believes because of this it is still within the regulations even though losses in the past five years now total £370 million.
Everton and Nottingham Forest had points deducted last season after they both breached the rules.
Omar Berrada, chief executive, said: “We are working towards greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, to ensure we are directing our resources to enhance on-pitch performance.”
United finished eighth in the Premier League in the 2023/24 season - their lowest finish since 1990 - but won the FA Cup.
Long-term debt at the end of the year was close to £500 million with a further £65 million in short-term loans.
Revenues in teh current year are expected to be between £650m and £670m.