Man United’s net debt rises from £73.6m to £391.3m in three months
Financial Results for the quarter show that revenues are down by 19.1% but Ole Gunnar Solskjær has received the backing of CEO Ed Woodward.
Manchester United’s net debt has risen from £73.6m to £391.3m in three months, according to reports, an increase of approximately 420%.
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A decrease in revenue (£39m – 37.6%) for the quarter concerned is mainly down to United not competing in the Champions League.
Net debt increase has been largely attributed to the investment in new players and that the club sees this figure as “manageable” and their gross debt remains constant.
The results include an initial £46.5m paid for Bruno Fernandes, and the backing for Solskjær came from Ed Woodward, indicating that the club is confident that the Norwegian is the right man to “implement their footballing vision” in the long-term unless there is a drastic downturn in results.
“We are pushing for a strong finish in the Premier League, the Europa League and the FA Cup as we enter the final third of the season,” the executive vice-chairman said.
“We have continued to make progress on our squad rebuild, with many changes in terms of players that we have brought in and players that have come through our academy.
“The foundation for delivering the long-term success that we are all working towards is in place as we implement our plan and our footballing vision with Ole.”
United currently occupies 5th in the Premier League, a position that would see them secure Champions League football for next season unless Man City’s two-year European ban is overturned.
Woodward added: “Despite being linked in the media to 111 players in January, our acquisition of just one of them Bruno Fernandes is an important step in that direction, demonstrating our commitment to adding experienced, world-class recruits to the exciting crop of academy graduates that are at the heart of this developing team. We will take the same planned, disciplined, approach this coming summer.”
Woodward said the club had also “made a number of exciting youth acquisitions” in the past year and stated: “Our academy graduates have contributed over a third of first-team playing minutes this season and over half of our goals … In summary, while we still have much to do, we are progressing with confidence in the right direction.”
