Man Utd revenues down 12% as Ten Hag exit hits profits

Manchester United's revenues decreased by 12% in the last financial quarter as the cost of sacking former manager Erik ten Hag hit profits.

The club announced on Wednesday it took in revenue of £198.7m for the final three months of 2024, down from £225.8m for the same period 12 months previously.

A driver of the decrease was a 42% drop in broadcast revenues, which fell from £106.4m to £61.6m.

The club said this was down to United playing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League in the 2023-24 season.

Overall, the club made an operating profit of £3.1m, which was down from £27.5m over the same period in 2023, but United said club debt increased from £506.6m to £515.7m because of "unfavourable" exchange rate changes.

Included in the results is a £14.5m 'exceptional item' figure, with £10.4m spent on sacking Ten Hag and his coaching staff in October and £4.1m on the departure of former sporting director Dan Ashworth in December.

Commercial revenue was up 18.5% from £71.8m to £85.1m, as a result of the front-of-shirt partnership with Snapdragon.

"We recognise the challenges in improving our men's team's league position and we are all working hard, collectively, to achieve that," said Omar Berrada, United's chief executive officer.

Berrada said the club's redevelopment of the training ground was "on track".

The £11m cost of appointing new head coach Ruben Amorim and his staff is not specifically mentioned in United's latest financial results.

United sources say that cost is being spread over their two-and-a-half-year contracts.

The club paid the sum to activate Amorim's release clause at Portuguese outfit Sporting while he was under contract and with the 2024-25 season under way.

Wednesday's figures follow the club's operating loss of £6.9m in the first quarter, which was also attributed to the difference in playing in the Europa League as opposed to the Champions League.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United's co-owner, has a 28.94% stake in the club through his Ineos group.

United wrote to supporters in January to say "difficult" decisions would need to be taken as the club was "close" to breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.

Under profit and sustainability rules, clubs can record a maximum loss of £105m over a three-year reporting period.

United's losses over the past five years total over £370m, but some costs - such as infrastructure costs, youth development and community spending - do not count towards PSR calculations.

Since Ratcliffe's investment was announced in December 2023, United have made around 250 staff redundancies.

The club did not deny reports that they were seeking to make further redundancies when approached by BBC Sport earlier this month.

United expect the restructuring decisions will lead to savings of between £30m-£40m.

The club made two signings in the January transfer window, with Patrick Dorgu arriving from Lecce and Ayden Heaven joining from Arsenal.

Marcus Rashford, Antony and Tyrell Malacia all left United on loan.

However, transfer activity in January is not included in the latest financial results as it falls outside the quarterly timeframe.

The first team, now led by Amorim, sit 15th in the Premier League and are through to the Europa League knockout stages, as well as the fifth round of the FA Cup.