Manchester United to take huge £67million hit for failure to qualify for the Champions League  

Manchester United expect to bring in up to £67m less than they did last year as failure to qualify for the Champions League hits home.

The club released their first quarter financial results and are forecasting revenues of £560m to £580m, a significant drop on the £627.1m raked in during 2018-19.

United’s latest figures also revealed that wages are down by £6.8m (8.8%) year on year – thanks to the club not having to pay Champions League bonuses, while debt has shot up by up by £137.3m to £384.5m – which is largely down to cash spent on buying players. 

The debt that exists as a legacy from the Glazer family’s leveraged takeover of the club remains at the same level. United finished sixth last season and qualified for the Europa League. 

They currently lie in seventh place, already 18 points behind leaders Liverpool. Ed Woodward, executive vice chairman, said: ‘We have a clear vision in terms of football philosophy and recruitment. 

‘The significant investments that we have made in recent years in areas such as transfers, recruitment infrastructure, analytics and our Academy are already beginning to bear fruit. 

‘We are very proud to be shortly approaching a milestone 4,000th game featuring an Academy player, and we are particularly optimistic regarding the considerable young talent currently coming through. 

‘Our ultimate goal is to win trophies by playing exciting football with a team that fuses graduates from our Academy with world-class acquisitions.’ 

Elsewhere, commercial and sponsorship revenue is up, while broadcasting revenue dropped significantly by £9.9m – again down to non-participation in the Champions League.

Employee benefit expenses for the quarter were £70.2 million, a decrease of £6.8 million, or 8.8%, over the prior year quarter, primarily due to reductions in player salaries – another result of non-participation in the UEFA Champions League.