DESPITE THEIR ON-PITCH travails last season, Manchester United have matched expectations by announcing a 19% rise in annual revenue to a record €539.6million.
United floundered in their first season after the retirement of long-serving manager Alex Ferguson, finishing seventh in the Premier League and sacking his successor, David Moyes, but they continued to thrive commercially.
The club reported a 49% increase in sponsorship revenue — helped by a blockbuster €930m 10-year deal with Adidas — and recorded a profit of €29.7m.
“We are very proud of the results achieved in fiscal year 2014 as we once again generated record revenues,” said executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in a statement.
“With Louis van Gaal at the helm as manager, and the recent signing of some of the world’s leading players to further strengthen our squad, we are very excited about the future and believe it’s the start of a new chapter in the club’s history.
“Louis’s footballing philosophy fits very well with Manchester United and he has an impressive track record of success throughout his career, winning league titles with every club he has managed.”
Partly due to their non-participation in the Champions League, United expect their income to fall to between €478m and €490m over the course of the current season.
But they invested around €186m on new players during the close-season transfer window, including a British-record €74.2m swoop for Argentina international winger Angel di Maria.
The figures released on Wednesday also revealed that United paid out €6.4m in compensation to former Everton manager Moyes, who was dismissed in April, and some members of his coaching staff.
United are without a win after three Premier League games this season and were knocked out of the League Cup following a 4-0 loss to third-tier Milton Keynes Dons.
But they could hand debuts to new signings Radamel Falcao, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind in Sunday’s home game with Queens Park Rangers.
