Manchester United made a £71.4m net loss in the third quarter of the financial year, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 27.7% buy-in costing the club £30.3m, though the Ineos owner has since injected $200m (£156.1m) into the club.
With previous accounts detailing a £9.6m cost involved with Ratcliffe becoming United’s largest minority owner, the total stands at £39.9m. The club view the sum, derived in part from legal, banking and consultancy fees, as a prudent business investment, as they have put a new structure in place that they are confident will drive United forward. While Ratcliffe controls football policy, Omar Berrada has been hired as chief executive, Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Jason Wilcox as technical director.
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Ratcliffe has pledged a total $300m (£234m) of investment, with the $200m already paid used to aid a £50m overhaul of United’s Carrington training centre.
United’s £71.4m net loss is up from £5.6m from the corresponding quarter of 2023 and is because of amortisation and other factors. The club’s revenue for the financial year is forecast to be a record £660m.
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Erik ten Hag said on Tuesday that he backed the new structure and that it would allow the team to challenge for the Premier League. “With the new ownership coming in, they can help us,” the United manager said. “They are very supportive. We’ve made a process, which we’ve constructed across the summer and we are in a very strong position to go and attack.”