Manchester United set Premier League RECORD with a £384.2m wage bill – Cristiano Ronaldo key to rise

Man United set the Premier League RECORD with a £384.2m wage bill – with Cristiano Ronaldo’s monster pay packet a key contributor – as they smash past local rivals Man City, whose wages hit £354.6m last year

• Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United last season for a second spell
• Portuguese maestro earns a huge £480,000-per-week, a Premier League high
• The record eclipses the previous high set by local rivals Manchester City 
• United have posted financial records that have seen them lose £2million-a-week

By Dan Ripley for MailOnline

Manchester United have set a new Premier League record wage bill following financial results posted in regards to last season.

United’s annual bill soared to £384.2m with the eye-watering figures related to the huge pay packet towards starman Cristiano Ronaldo following his return to the club a year ago. 

Ronaldo earns an incredible £480,000-a-week which at the time of his return made him the best paid Premier League player by nearly £100,000.

The surge in wages takes them past local rivals Manchester City who previously paid out £354.6m in figures from last year.

However the news comes following news posted losses of more than £2million-per-week last season, even though matchday income would have increased following the return of supporters to stadium post Covid.

The Old Trafford club reported a net loss of £115.5m for the season and posted an operating loss of £87.4m for the year to June 30. Most of these losses come from the spiralling wages paid out.

Fans will also be left fuming to learn net debt has increased once more to over £514.9million (up by £95.4m), doing little to ease the growing resentment towards the club’s American owners, the Glazer family.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sky high wages have seen Manchester United set a new record in the Premier League for their salary bill

It comes after the club reported operating losses under American owners, the Glazer family

United put that rise of £95.4 million primarily down to £64.6m of unrealised foreign exchange losses on the retranslation of borrowings in United States dollars.

Revenue rose by £89.1m or 18 per cent to £583m.

The latest United financial figures showed a large 19.1 per cent increase in wages of £61.6m to £384.2m.

United also signed Jadon Sancho last summer, pictured signing his contract with former Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

French World Cup winner Raphael Varane also arrived to high acclaim from Real Madrid

‘Our financial results for fiscal 2022 reflect a recovery from the pandemic, a full return of fans and new commercial partnerships offset by increased investment in the playing squad,’ said chief financial officer Cliff Baty.

‘Our results have been adversely affected by the absence of a summer tour in July 2021, material exceptional and increased utility costs, and the impact of the weakening of sterling on our non-cash finance costs.’

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