Analysing Manchester United's Financial Health

Manchester United signed a deal with Chevrolet in 2012, strengthening its American roots

So how well is Manchester United doing financially in the light of a trophy barren 2013-2014 season,  a new manager, fresh sponsorship deals and no champions league participation? To answer this question, let's first have a close look at the last season's financial report which was released by the club last week. 

Manchester United have announced a record annual revenue of £433.2m which increased 19% from the previous season. Part of this revenue comes from sponsorships (£135.8m) as this saw a staggering 49% growth. Broadcasting revenue saw a surge of 33.7% and this is expected to reduce this year due to lack of Champions League display, which had a 5% contribution previous year. Match-day income decreased by 0.9% which is partly because the tremendous increase in previous season's income due to Old Trafford being a host to a few London 2012 Olympics games.

So how did Manchester United spend their money in the previous season?

Where the Annual revenue increased by 19%, the total operating costs of the club rose equally by 20%. However, the Revenue has been £60.9m higher, hence the profitability. Employee benefit expenses (which includes salaries to our big guns such as Rooney, Mata and Van Persie) was an astounding 58% of the operational cost. Wayne Rooney himself is on a reported £14m a year contract. Acquisition of Galacticos such as Angel di Maria and Falcao will certainly add to the wages bill in the current season. A pre-mature departure of Mr. David Moyes and his coaching staff cost the club £5.2m.

Manchester United now has 3 global sponsorship partnerships in the form of Chevrolet, Aon and Nike. From 2015-16 season, Nike will be replaced by Adidas in a record breaking £750m 10 year deal. Real Madrid's £31m a year deal was previously the highest.

However, the adjusted net income (after tax) amounts to a mere £23.8m.

Outlook for 2014-2015:
The club is not optimistic on boasting immense profits for the next year due to two reasons mainly. First, the lack of Champions league football will directly hit the broadcasting and match-day revenues and should cut the club's annual income by around £50m. Secondly, the club's net transfer spending for 2014-2015 is already £90m inflated by the £60m acquisition of Angel di Maria from Real Madrid.

So assuming MUFC finishes third in the premier league, a revenue of between £385m and £395m is expected for the 2014-2015 season. 

Five Key Financials a Manchester United fan should be aware of:

1. £720m - The price the Glazer family paid to buy Manchester United FC in 2005
2. £341.8m - Amount of club's debt despite reducing it by 12.2% in the previous season
3. £50m - The price Manchester United will lose out for not being in 2014-15's champions league
4. £59.7m - Club's record signing fee to secure the talismanic ex Real madrid's Angel di Maria
5. £53m a year - Chevrolet will pay this amount to have its name on the current MUFC jersey.

You can review the full annual financial report by clicking here.

Are you a financial expert? Do you think Manchester United can handle their finances in a better efficient way? Then we urge you not to be quiet about it and certainly comment!

How compatible is LvG with MUFC as our new manager?

When personalities like Usian Bolt, the super Jamaican runner, publicly say that they are closely monitoring the performance of Louis van Gaal, you know that you need to tighten up your nuts and bolts at least a little bit. Watch his statement in the embedded video below:

Video Courtesy: BeanymanSports

Note: This article is currently undergoing a huge edit. Do come back for an in-depth analysis.

United Chief Ed Woodward returns to Manchester; sparks transfer rumours

TRDS understands that Manchester United's new Chief Executive Ed Woodward is making his way back to Manchester in order to complete some urgent transfer business. What could this mean for the future of Manchester United?

In this blogpost, we present three possibilities which could have encouraged David Gill’s replacement to make an emergency halt to the 2013-14 Manchester United pre-season tour.

TRDS predicts a David Moyes-Marouane Fellaini re-union at OT

         1. Marouane Fellaini

We rate the likelihood of Fellaini’s transfer negotiations to be the highest. The Belgian recently suggested that if given a choice between Arsenal and Manchester United, he would undoubtedly like to join the Red Devils where he would be re-united with his ex-boss David Moyes.  We recently blogged about why Marouane’s case will be a good fit at Old Trafford (Fellaini’s post). Fellaini has a £23.5M release clause in his contract at Everton and Manchester United should easily be able to splash the cash.

The fact Fellaini already owns a house in Manchester further convinces us that he will be playing for Manchester United next season.

2.      Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas to return to Arsenal?

Manchester United recently submitted a bid of around £26M for the ex Gunner Cesc Fabregas which was soon rejected by Barcelona. It is not surprising that Fabregas feels frustrated at his club, Barcelona, due to the fierce competition he faces to feature in the starting XI. Joining Manchester United will be a right step for his career progression with the World Cup 2014 just around the corner. If Cesc can perform well at United next season, he will certainly feature for Spain in the World Cup. This might be a huge incentive for Fabregas, but then Arsenal seems interested in buying back Cesc Fabregas.

We believe Cesc will join Arsenal and the odds of his transfer to United are low.

3.      Wayne Rooney  

TRDS expects Wayne Rooney to apologise again and stay at Old Trafford.

We rate the transfer possibility of the wantaway England striker, Wayne Rooney, to be the lowest. Manchester United today officially rejected Chelsea’s £20m transfer bid for Wayne (source). Wayne is also reluctant to move abroad. Hence, TRDS predicts that Rooney will stay at United for another year. He will simply not be allowed by the club to leave.

All in all, TRDS believes that Ed Woodward’s eratic return to Manchester United signals the signing of a player and we predict that it is of Marouane Fellaini, the ominous Beligian midfielder.

Stay tuned for the updates!

The curious case of Marouane Fellaini and why he deserves to play for ManUtd

Marouane may be an answer to United's recent midfield woes!

People are questioning the prospect of Fellaini’s transfer to Manchester United. 

This is because there is a strong concern that the young Belgian has no experience in Europe and also his makeshift striker role at his previous club, Everton. He's a Belgian international and it is a huge bonus that Belgium is one of the strongest young sides in Europe at the moment. So acquiring a player of Fellaini's ability is a great prospect.

Manchester United didn't have many problems in the attacking department last year. Talented players like Van Persie, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez created chances and scored some lively goals. However, United’s midfield trouble was exposed by teams like Real Madrid and Chelsea. This led to their dismal performance through the middle and rendered them unconvincing at times.

Fellaini compared with other midfielders*

Marouane Fellaini is exactly the sort of player Manchester United needs right now given his promising background. He may have zero experience in the Champions League, however his talent would be a good acquisition allowing him to nurture under Moyes.

As for Kagawa, he's not really a midfielder United needs as he's too lightweight to play upfront for the time being. It is OK when he's playing against the likes of Norwich and other relatively weak times but a more aggressive side can make him suffer. That is precisely why Fergie preferred playing him on the left flank. This made it a little difficult to mark him and gave him more freedom to use his undoubted dribbling ability.


Shinji Kagawa deserves some more time at United without a doubt. It’s all about adaptation for the young player and he can do it. Till the time Kagawa becomes a real threat in the midfield area, he may be played in different positions or even allowed to choose his own area of expertise. After all, that's not asking a player to perform out of position – it is utilising a player’s strengths for the benefit of the esteemed football club.

Having said all that, there is no reason why Fellaini’s acquisition will help Moyes and Manchester United to go on and win the 21^st Premier league title. It would be nice to see him perform well with the likes of Michael Carrick, Anderson and Tom Cleverley.

Mr. Fellaini,  IT'S YOUR CHOICE AFTER ALL!

* thanks to Opta.

Why appointing David Moyes was the easiest yet the most challenging job?

Last updated: 25/05/2013

Manchester United has finally unveiled its successor. His name is David Moyes, a former Everton Boss.

Let’s start off with some statistics and analysis-
· 8^th May, 2013 will forever be remembered as a day when Sir Alex Ferguson finally stepped down as a Manchester United manager. This came off as a surprise as only recently he announced his plans to remain at the club for a bit longer.

· During his 26 year tenure, Fergie won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League and 2 UEFA Champions League titles.  No manager till date has achieved this feat. That’s right: Ferguson has been the longest serving manager Manchester United has ever had. 
One question to be asked here is: Can David Moyes emulate Fergie’s form and perhaps surpass it?

·Ferguson is only the 3^rd all-time British Manager to lift a European Cup more than once. The most recent European silverware being won in 2008, after defeating arch-rivals Chelsea in the Champions League final during the penalties. 
Will David Moyes be able to establish Manchester United in Europe?

· There are countless other achievements that Sir Alex has achieved in different forms e.g. Manager of the Month/Year. However, the most prestigious one from a club’s perspective is the one that will be talked about now.

Precisely speaking, it is the integrity and loyalty of a manager. Sir Alex has been one of the most consistent and disciplined manager in the history of football. The art of replacing such a personality is quite simply put: a mammoth task.

At the end of the day, the replacement should offer a similar skill-set and keep the club competitive. There are not many names that will echo in one’s mind; this managerial quality is perhaps even more important than winning trophies. Let us have a look at both the manager’s key player signings:

Some of the players working under the Ferguson era:
Peter Schmeichel (Denmark), Dwight Yorke (Trinadad and Tobago), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Norway), Paul Scholes (England), Roy Keane (Ireland), Eric Cantona (France), Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Netherlands), Nemenja Vidic (Serbia), Rio Ferdinand (England), Wayne Rooney (England) and more recently Robin Van Persie (Netherlands).

Sir Alex has been renowned for raising 6 great boys into the game of football. They were later termed as “Fergie’s Fledglings”: Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham and Nicky Butt. They have benefited a lot under Sir Alex’s shear optimism, hard man management and leadership.

Some of the Key signings under Moyes’ era at Everton:
Louis Saha (France), Tim Cahill (Australia), Phil Jagielka (England), Leighton Baines (England), Phil Neville (England), Marouane Fellaini (Belgium). So obviously targeting low-priced talent.

After spending a long time with the manager, Marouane Fellaini has explained how unusual the atmosphere around the club has been recently. Marouane is optimistic that David Moyes will flourish at Old Trafford.

Here’s what he had to say about his ex-manager’s abrupt move:
‘It has been difficult, a very strange time at Everton in the last couple of weeks,’ said Fellaini. ‘It is Manchester United and everybody wants to manage that club, and he had the big chance, so everybody understands his decision.’
‘It was strange when he told us he was leaving. I don't think we were too upset - we were happy for him because he has ambition as well. He has worked 11 years at Everton and has done so well for this club, and now he has an even bigger challenge.’

It will be no easy road for Moyes. However, the new Manchester United manager’s strong statistical brain-power is expected to be carried on and embark him on the foundations of the football club.  

Fergie’s 26 years at United may have been up but he will certainly be overlooking David Moyes. Here’s hoping Mr Moyes avoids the “hair-dryer” treatment at any cost!

Good luck to the new Manchester United manager.