Manchester United Post Record £677.6m Revenue Despite £43m Loss

Manchester United made more money than ever last season without playing in Europe, with revenue reaching a club-record £677.6 million for the year ending 30 June 2026.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 18.4% to £216.4m, while an £18.4m operating loss a year earlier became a £22.6m operating profit. United still finished the year with a £43m net loss, compared with a £33m net loss the previous year, but that bottom-line figure hides a sizeable improvement in the day-to-day business.

Operating expenses fell by £31.8m to £701.9m, while employee costs dropped £11.3m to £302m. United linked that partly to first-team changes and partly to the headcount reductions carried out over the previous two years.

Around 250 jobs were cut in 2024, with plans for another 150 to 200 redundancies announced in 2025. Those decisions have been among the most controversial of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's involvement at Old Trafford, but their financial effect is now visible.

The net loss still increased by £10m because the operating improvement was offset further down the accounts. Net finance costs climbed from £21.2m to £69.6m, while United also recorded a £10m unrealised foreign-exchange loss on unhedged US dollar borrowings.

Supporters can spend an entire summer arguing about whether the midfield needs another six, only for the exchange rate to end up having a fairly serious say in the annual results.

The record revenue is just as notable for where it came from.

United had no Champions League, Europa League or Conference League football during 2025/26, having reached the Europa League final the previous season. Despite losing that UEFA income, broadcasting revenue rose 19.6% from £172.9m to £206.8m.

The main difference was domestic performance. United went from 15th in the Premier League to third, increasing their central broadcasting distributions enough to cover much of the European shortfall.

For a club so often discussed through sponsors, global reach and commercial power, finishing 12 places higher in the league still turns out to be pretty useful.

Commercial revenue actually fell 4.8% to £317.3m, while matchday income dropped 4.2% to £153.5m as United played ten fewer home matches.

At the same time, United spent £63.5m acquiring land connected to their proposed new 100,000-capacity stadium. Total capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment reached £85.9m, compared with £44.7m a year earlier.

Old Trafford has been United's home since 1910, but the club is now spending serious money preparing for the possibility that its next major stadium will be built beside it rather than inside it.

There is still a long way to go. Construction has not begun and funding remains a major question, but £63.5m on land is well beyond the artist-impression stage.

United's cash balance fell from £86.1m to £67.2m, although cash generated from operations rose sharply from £72.7m to £178.7m.

The next accounts should look different again. Champions League football has returned, and United are forecasting revenue of between £740m and £760m for 2026/27.

For most clubs, £677.6m would be the story.

At Manchester United, it barely gets you through the first page of the accounts.