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£191.5m – Man United expected to suffer a record loss this season

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Old Trafford will host Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 UCL clash this season.

Manchester United projected to suffer £191.5million revenue loss this season

According to an analysis by Vysyble (h/t Daily Mail), the coronavirus pandemic has hit Manchester United finances hard.

The club is now on course to make nearly £191.5million in losses for the 2020/21 campaign. The prediction has been made based on the club’s latest set of financial figures this week. It included a 19.5% year-on-year reduction in revenues.

Alarmingly, the return of fans to stadiums is not expected to improve the situation.

Manchester United CEO Ed Woodward
Manchester United on course for record loss in revenue in 2020/21

United’s estimated annual revenue for the 2020-21 season is £473.4m. This is the lowest the figure since 2015.

The data released by United showed that the Spring lockdown resulted in a quarterly economic loss of £49.08m between April and June. To put that into perspective we suffered a loss of £34.8m for the whole of 2018-19.

A further loss of £49.49m was recorded between July and September this year. This was due to fans being kept away from Old Trafford, eliminating matchday income.

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A huge red flag?

To put a barometer on the scope of the issue, United’s loss can be considered to be equivalent to losing £40.45 for every £100 of the revenue made.

Vysyble co-founded Roger Bell revealed that such numbers are not expected from a club of United’s stature. He believes it should set off alarm bells ringing.

The Premier League clubs combined are projected to experience a collective loss exceeding £1bn. The top-flight had already recorded record losses of £559.54m in the 2018-19 season before the pandemic struck.

Full houses in stadiums will not happen anytime soon
Full houses in stadiums will not happen anytime soon

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As per the latest financial figures that United have released, overall revenue was £109m, down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

United generated £1.7m as a result of membership sales and rental incomes from property owned around Old Trafford. Commercial revenue dropped by 25.7% to £59.7m but there was a rise in broadcast revenues as a result of Premier League games being played in July.

Even if fans return to stadiums in December, it will be a while until full attendances become the norm again.