Taking a stand: Fan anger at the Glazer regime has
manifested itself into protests over the last 12 months
Manchester
United have become the first English
club to crash through the £100million profit barrier - while at the
same time posting an £83.6m loss.
The figures will be of huge concern to supporters who believe
that the club's debts are a barrier to competing with Barclays
Premier League rivals such as Chelsea and Manchester City.
United's latest accounts show that they have spent £40m on
interest payments - more than £22m net spend on new talent this
summer at a time when rivals City splurged more than £100m on
talent.
The losses are in part down to a hefty one-off cost for the
£504m bond issue earlier this year. But hefty revenues show how the
club remain one of the world's most attractive sporting
organisations.
A vocal section of United supporters have become increasingly
angry at how the club has been run since the Glazer family took
over in 2005.
But United will point to the massive commercial growth in the
latest figures, following the implementation of their 'territory
specific' approach. The £11.5m increase in turnover to £81.4m
proves how successful that plan has been.
It also debunks the idea that the negative headlines the Glazer
family ownership has caused have deterred companies from
associating themselves with United.
Media revenues have also risen by £5.1m, to £104.8m, making it
the largest area for the club now matchday revenues have fallen to
£100.1m.
Slow start: Manchester United haven't enjoyed a
particularly fast start to the Premier League campaign
Wages rose by seven per cent to £131.7m, while United's
overall debt rose to £521.7m.
United's overall turnover is £286.41m, which contrasts sharply
with Manchester City, who seven days ago celebrated hitting a
turnover figure of £125m. It shows the vast gulf that still exists
commercially between the neighbouring clubs and the work City must
do to get somewhere close.
There was a massive reduction in revenue gained from the
disposal of players following the world record sale of Cristiano
Ronaldo to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson continues to tell United supporters
that there is money to spend on players if he wants to use it and
has indeed invested £7m on the Portuguese prospect Bebe in recent
weeks.
But another summer passed without a stellar signing, as Ferguson
instead turned to other young prospects such as Mexico striker
Javier Hernandez and defender Chris Smalling in a year that saw
cash raised from the departures of players like Zoran Tosic,
Fraizer Campbell and Ben Foster.
The Glazers themselves have certainly never given any indication
of being unduly worried by the huge debt burden and the successful
bond issue earlier this year provided far greater flexibility with
their financial dealings, even if the bond, to which United are
committed to paying an annual interest rate of 8.75per cent, has to
be paid back in 2017.
Crucially, there is no mention within the accounts of any money
being taken out of the club by the Glazer family to pay their
£200m-worth of PIK notes that are now attracting interest at
16.25per cent.
Supporters who are opposed to the entire Glazer regime will
seize on the losses as proof of their claim that United are being
deprived of transfer funds due to the debt the club acquired as
part of the process in which their owners took control of the Old
Trafford outfit.
