MANCHESTER UNITED are paying their players £391MILLION in wages a year despite their struggles on the pitch.
The Premier League giants posted their financial records today – and there are some startling figures.
The clubs say that the increase in wages to £97.7m a quarter is due to ‘investment in the first-team playing squad’.
This takes in the three months up to December 31, with United comparing figures every quarter.
The wage figure released in November’s publication had United’s wages at £354m a year.
This was after the club shelled out mega-money for Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, currently going through a barren spell of goalscoring, is believed to earn around £510,000 a week.
Keeper David De Gea pockets around £375,000 a week.
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United have also revealed that club debt is almost hitting half a BILLION pounds at £494.8m.
This is up 8.6 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2020.
Total operating expenses for the quarter were £179.7 million, an increase of £41.1 million, or 29.7 per cent, over the prior year quarter.
The document also reveals that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s compensation for being sacked was around £7m.
Total ‘exceptional items’ costings came to £10m – with members of the coaching team who also left paid out.
Overall, the club’s half-year revenue is UP 7.3 per cent on the same period from 2021, to £185.4m.
Results reflect the continued strength of our sponsorship revenues, supported by record-breaking digital fan engagement
Man Utd’s chief financial officer
But having no fans inside Old Trafford due to the pandemic is still being worked through which could affect these figures.
Richard Arnold, who was recently appointed as United’s new chief executive, held a press conference today.
A statement from United’s chief financial officer read: “For the second fiscal quarter of 2022, we achieved robust revenue growth of 7.3 per cent despite the postponement of two matches in the quarter due to Covid-19.
“Results reflect the continued strength of our sponsorship revenues, supported by record-breaking digital fan engagement, in addition to the return of more normalised match-day operations.
“We look forward with optimism to the remainder of the fiscal year.”
United are facing a battle to get into the top four this season, two points clear of West Ham in fifth.
Ralf Rangnick was the man tasked with replacing Solskjaer, but he is expected to move into a consulting role at the end of the season.
The process is underway as to who takes the big job at Old Trafford, with PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax’s Erik ten Hag believed to be the frontrunners.
In January SunSport reported that United’s revenues had fallen behind fierce rivals City’s for the first time ever.
City recorded operating revenues of £537m for last season – a jump of around 17 per cent on the previous 12 month period.
It also dwarfed the £464m brought in through broadcast, match day and commercial income across town at Old Trafford.
That report – produced by consultants KPMG – highlighted the impact the pandemic has had at the top end of English football.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
