IT’S OFFICIAL, folks — Manchester United will prove this week they are still the top earners in English football, thanks to the world’s biggest fan base. Arsenal claimed to have taken their crown back in September, when they announced a turnover of £201million. But they cannot compete with United’s mega 330m global fan base (and no, they don’t all live in Surrey!) United will announce their own increase in turnover on Thursday to £245m. This comes after a successful season in which they almost repeated the Treble of 1999.
£20m interest a yearCristiano Ronaldo and Co won the title, reached the FA Cup final and Champions League semis. But there are still fears among some fans over the debt of around £500m the Glazers racked up in buying the club in 2005.
The interest on that is around £20m a year. That is money that could otherwise be used on team-building or keeping ticket prices down. There is fury among season ticket-holders that they are forced to buy all cup tickets or surrender their season ticket. Some even want them to be knocked out of the likes of the Carling Cup so they are not paying for matches they do not go to anyway. For the first time United have included in their figures the money from their long-term contract with shirt suppliers Nike.
That is reckoned to be worth around £30m a year. The club have recently moved their commercial operation from Manchester to London to maximise money-making opportunities. In this week’s figures, United will continue to be open about their transfer activities.
They will detail the exact amount paid to agents for transfers, although they will not break them down to each individual deal. The new turnover figure means that wages now take up 43.6 per cent of the club’s expenditure. That will please the Glazers — who have set a ceiling of 50 per cent.