Pranav Nair
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.
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.
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.
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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.
