BEVERLY HILLS, October 22, (THEWILL) – English Premier League side Manchester United have announced a £70m loss in annual revenue due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Revenue at the Old Trafford club shrank by almost 20 per cent in the year ending June 2020 compared to the previous financial year as the impact of COVID-19 affected the club on a varied number of fronts.
Total revenue for 2019/20, which stood at £509m, showed the lowest figure United have posted since the 2014/15 financial year, when it was £395.2m. Compared to record revenues of £627.1m in 2018/19, it represents a solid 18.8 per cent drop.
Revenue was projected to drop to between £560m and £580m this year because the Red Devils were not partaking in Champions League football, but even those forecast figures had to be withdrawn when they published their third-quarter results in May after the impact of the pandemic was factored in.
The situation was similar for Broadcasting revenues. They also fell from £241.2m to £140.2m, a drop of 41.9 per cent. As for matchday revenue, there was a 19 per cent drop to £89.8m.
Net debt, another negative metric of the report, more than doubled from the previous year to £474.1m. United said this reflected the impact of deferred sponsorship payments of £80m, the loss of advance matchday revenue for 2020/21 which would typically be in excess of £50m ahead of a Champions League season and an increase in player investment.
Exceptional Costs, which relate to compensation paid to former manager Jose Mourinho and members of the coaching staff, for the prior year were £19.6m.
The club said they would not issue revenue guidance for the 2020-21 financial year due to the “ongoing uncertainty” caused by the pandemic.
THEWILL had earlier reported similar losses suffered by Catalan giants Barcelona due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Blaugrana had announced a loss of €97 million for the 2019/2020 economic year, which was a massive €203 million decrease in revenue for the La Liga club.
Unlike United however, THEWILL showed that Barca were not hesitant to make a provisional estimation of €791 million in revenue for the 2020/2021 financial year.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
