Man Utd revenue falls as Champions League absence bites

LONDON: Manchester United suffered a £14 million (US$17.6 million) drop in total revenue to £143.1 million, taking a hit from their absence from the lucrative Champions League, first-quarter results showed on Tuesday.

But, the club announced a net profit of £1.4 million in the period from July to September, compared with a £25.8 million loss during the same period last year, which they attributed to favourable foreign exchange rates.

The Red Devils finished eighth in the Premier League under former manager Erik ten Hag last season – their lowest-ever placing – to miss out on Europe’s top club competition.

That resulted in a 20.4% drop in broadcasting revenue in the quarter ending September 30 to £31.3 million.

United’s FA Cup win last season means they are competing in this season’s Europa League instead.

Commercial revenue fell 5.6% to £85.3 million, with matchday revenue decreasing by 3.3% to £26.5 million.

The club recorded “exceptional” costs of £8.6 million. They said the figure “comprises costs incurred in relation to the restructuring of the group’s operations, including the redundancy scheme implemented in the first quarter of financial year 2025”.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group took over football operations earlier this year after purchasing a minority stake.

They instigated a number of cost-saving measures, including plans to cut about 250 jobs.

United chief executive Omar Berrada said cost and headcount reductions remained “on track”, as did work to renovate the club’s Carrington training ground.

He confirmed a taskforce weighing up the benefits of redeveloping Old Trafford or building a new stadium on adjacent land was continuing its work.

United ended their financial year in June with net losses of £113.2 million despite earning record revenues – their fifth straight year of losses.

They are predicting total revenue for 2025 of between £650 million and £670 million.

Ruben Amorim, who replaced the sacked Ten Hag earlier this month, took charge of his first game at Ipswich on Sunday, which ended 1-1.

United are 12th in the Premier League table after a poor start to the season, six points off the top four teams, who qualify for the Champions League.