Manchester United sharply improved its operating result, but debt still keeps it in the red
In the first nine months of the 2026 financial year, Manchester United achieved an operating profit of £37.7 million, significantly improving its position compared with the same period a year earlier, when it operated with an operating loss of £3.2 million. The club published its results for the third fiscal quarter, ended 31 March 2026, on 27 May, and they show a combination of stronger revenue, lower operating expenses and a better sporting position in the Premier League. According to the club’s official announcement, total revenue in the first nine months amounted to £520.1 million, compared with £502.3 million in the comparable period of the previous year. This represents growth of 3.5 percent, even though the team in the 2025/26 season was without European matches, which are otherwise one of the important sources of revenue for clubs of that size.
Despite the improvement in the operating result, Manchester United still reported a loss before tax. According to the club’s financial data, the loss before tax in the first nine months amounted to £18 million, which is nevertheless significantly less than the £35.9 million loss in the same period of the previous year. The key difference between the operating profit and the final deficit stems from finance costs, primarily interest and the effect of indebtedness. In the report, the club stated that net finance costs for the first nine months reached £55.7 million, while in the same period a year earlier they amounted to £32.7 million. This makes it clear that the improvement in day-to-day operations softened, but did not remove, the pressure that financing obligations continue to create on the balance sheet.
Sacking Ruben Amorim cost the club £16.7 million
The most visible exceptional expense in the new results relates to the separation from Ruben Amorim and members of his coaching staff. Manchester United stated in its financial report exceptional items of £16.7 million in the third quarter, primarily due to costs associated with the departure of the former head coach of the men’s first team and part of his staff. In addition, a loss of £5.2 million was reported on the disposal of intangible assets, with the club stating that this mainly concerns the write-off of capitalised costs connected with Amorim and members of his team. The Guardian described this total impact as a cost of about £22 million, when the direct compensation and the accounting write-off are added together.
That cost once again opened the question of the price of frequent managerial changes at Old Trafford. Amorim’s departure was not only a sporting decision, but also an accounting item that is immediately visible in the business result. In Manchester United’s case, the financial effect of the managerial change is additionally pronounced because it happened in a period in which the club is trying to reduce operating expenses and improve profitability. According to data from the results announcement, exceptional costs in the third quarter of the previous year amounted to £2.7 million and related to compensation due to business restructuring. The comparison with the new amount shows how much sporting decisions can change the financial picture even in a period in which the core business is moving in a more positive direction.
Revenue growth was led by broadcasting rights
The biggest jump in the third quarter came from broadcasting revenue. According to Manchester United’s official report, television and other broadcasting revenue in the quarter to 31 March rose to £64.9 million, which is 57.1 percent more than a year earlier. The club explains this growth by the estimated better final position of the men’s first team in the Premier League in the 2025/26 season compared with the 2024/25 season, but also by the increased value of the latest international Premier League rights cycle. At the level of the first nine months, broadcasting revenue amounted to £157.1 million, compared with £134.2 million a year earlier.
Commercial revenue in the third quarter amounted to £82.4 million, which is 10.3 percent more than in the same period of the previous year. In that segment the picture is divided: sponsorship revenue fell by 9.4 percent, and the club cited as the main reason the expiry of the agreement with Tezos for training-kit sponsorship before the start of the 2025/26 season. On the other hand, revenue from retail, merchandising, apparel and product licensing rose by 36.3 percent, to £43.9 million. Manchester United links this growth to better performances on the pitch and a one-off positive effect of changed terms in its own online business launched a year earlier.
Matchday revenue in the third quarter fell to £42.2 million, which is 5.2 percent less than in the same period last year. According to the club’s explanation, the main reason was a smaller number of home matches: United played three fewer home matches in the observed quarter than a year earlier. The decline was partly softened by a better revenue-per-match effect. At the level of the first nine months, matchday revenue amounted to £117.9 million, while a year earlier it was £123 million. Such a structure shows how much the competition schedule, cup success and European matches can affect a club’s revenue, independently of the breadth of its fan base.
Cost cutting produced a visible effect
In the report, Manchester United emphasises that the positive effects of the programme to reduce operating expenses and headcount, launched the previous year, are continuing. Total operating expenses for the first nine months amounted to £525.5 million, while in the same period of the previous year they were £544.2 million. This means that costs were reduced by almost £18.7 million, even though at the same time the club had additional exceptional expenses connected with the managerial change and continued to invest in the playing squad. In the third quarter, wages and employee benefit expenses amounted to £70.8 million, which is a slight decrease compared with £71.2 million a year earlier.
Other operating expenses in the third quarter fell by 10.8 percent, to £34 million, with the club stating that part of the decline was connected with a smaller number of home matches. At the same time, amortisation rose to £52.4 million, which is 14.2 percent more than a year earlier, and the club linked the increase to investments in the first team. The unamortised value of player registrations as of 31 March 2026 amounted to £520.8 million. This figure shows that financial discipline in the operating part of the business is taking place in parallel with high sporting investments, which creates a lasting need for the club to balance results on the pitch and regulatory restrictions.
The Guardian states that cost cutting was carried out after Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake in 2024 and took responsibility for sporting operations. Reductions in headcount and the removal of certain staff benefits had previously been mentioned publicly, which sparked debate among fans and commentators. The financial report, however, shows that the effect of those measures is now visible in the figures. For a club that wants to return to regular Champions League football and at the same time remain compliant with Premier League and UEFA rules, the ability to control costs is as important as revenue growth.
Carrick’s Champions League qualification changes the projections
The sporting result had a direct effect on the financial outlook. Manchester United announced that the men’s first team finished the Premier League season in third place and thereby secured qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the 2026/27 season. On 22 May, the club also announced that Michael Carrick remains head coach of the men’s first team and that he signed a contract valid until 2028. According to the club’s announcement, Carrick recorded 11 wins in 16 matches after returning in January and collected the highest number of Premier League points of all teams during that period. Such a run of results changed both the sporting atmosphere and the financial assumptions for the next season.
Chief executive Omar Berrada described the results in the club’s announcement as an indicator of progress and of the continued effect of the business transformation. In the same announcement, the club stated that Carrick continues his work after returning the team to the Champions League, while the broader sporting review also highlighted the results of the women’s team and the academy. The women’s team finished the Women’s Super League season in fourth place and reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League for the first time, while the men’s U18 team was second in the U18 Premier League and played in the finals of the FA Youth Cup and the U18 Premier League Cup. Although those results are not as financially weighty as the first team’s qualification for the Champions League, they are important for the club in communicating long-term sporting development.
The return to the Champions League is also important because of future revenue from UEFA prizes, broadcasting, sponsorship activations and commercial exposure. The Guardian, citing estimates by football finance expert Stefan Borson, states that qualification for the Champions League could bring United about £80 million in additional revenue. Such estimates depend on results, coefficients, market share and number of matches, but the direction is clear: a return to the strongest European club competition significantly changes the financial framework. In that context, this year’s operating recovery can be viewed as a starting point, not as the end of the stabilisation process.
Debt remains the biggest burden on the balance sheet
Despite the better operating picture, indebtedness remains one of the key topics for Manchester United. In the report, the club stated that non-current liabilities in US dollars as of 31 March 2026 amounted to $650 million, unchanged from the same period a year earlier. Due to the change in the dollar-to-pound exchange rate, their value translated into pounds amounted to £490.1 million, compared with £500.9 million a year earlier. In addition, the club maintains a revolving credit facility whose amount changes depending on the seasonal movement of cash. Current liabilities under that arrangement at the end of March amounted to £262.5 million, compared with £212.3 million on the same date in 2025.
Finance costs particularly affected the third-quarter result. Net finance cost in that period amounted to £20.3 million, while a year earlier it was £3.8 million. The club explained that the change was partly a consequence of adverse exchange-rate movements, namely an unrealised foreign exchange loss of £10.3 million on unhedged US dollar borrowings. In the previous year, the comparable period had the opposite effect, namely an unrealised foreign exchange gain of £7.3 million. Such items do not depend directly on ticket sales, shirts or sporting results, but they can significantly change the final financial outcome.
For fans and investors, this means that the improvement in the business cannot be viewed only through operating profit. Manchester United can increase revenue and reduce costs, but as long as interest, exchange-rate effects and the overall level of indebtedness remain high, part of the positive effect will be cancelled below the operating level. This is especially important in a period in which the club is planning major infrastructure projects. In the third-quarter announcement, United repeated that work continues in the background on the ambition to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium, which, if realised, could change matchday revenue in the long term, but would also require very careful financial planning.
The club increased annual revenue and EBITDA guidance
After publishing the results, Manchester United raised its guidance for fiscal year 2026. According to the official report, the club now expects total revenue between £655 million and £665 million, while the previous forecast was between £640 million and £660 million. The adjusted EBITDA forecast was also raised to a range between £200 million and £210 million. Adjusted EBITDA in the first nine months already amounted to £187.5 million, which is 29 percent more than a year earlier. The club at the same time emphasises that it remains committed to complying with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules and UEFA’s financial rules.
The raised forecasts come at a moment when sporting and business trends are beginning to overlap. A better Premier League finish lifted broadcasting revenue, the commercial part shows resilience, and cost measures are reducing pressure at the operating level. At the same time, the absence of European football in the 2025/26 season means that current revenue did not have the support that the club will expect after returning to the Champions League. For that reason, the next financial year will be an important test: it will show whether United can turn sporting recovery into more lasting growth, without repeating the exceptional costs that marked this season.
On the commercial side, The Guardian states that Betway agreed a sponsorship deal for United’s training kit for next season, in the context of changes to rules on gambling companies’ advertising on Premier League shirts. According to the same source, the value of that agreement is estimated at about £20 million. Although the club did not elaborate in detail in its third-quarter financial report on the future effect of that agreement, it is clear that new sponsorship revenue could offset part of the decline caused by the expiry of the earlier arrangement with Tezos. In combination with the Champions League, this opens room for growth, but also increases expectations of Carrick’s team and the management.
Financial recovery is not yet complete stabilisation
Manchester United’s results for the first nine months of fiscal 2026 show a club that has made a major step forward in operating terms. Revenue has risen, costs have been reduced, adjusted EBITDA is significantly higher, and the sporting result brought a return to the Champions League. Still, the final loss before tax, the exceptional cost of sacking Ruben Amorim and high finance expenses show that recovery is not the same as complete stabilisation. Manchester United enters the new season with a better sporting position and a more favourable revenue forecast, but also with balance-sheet burdens that will continue to limit its room for manoeuvre.
For the club’s management, the key question now is whether the positive trend can continue without new exceptional costs and without losing control over wages, amortisation and transfer investments. For the sporting side, Carrick’s stay until 2028 provides continuity after a period of change, but also sets higher expectations. For the financial side, the return to the Champions League and the announced commercial revenue provide a stronger base, but debt remains a constant reminder that success on the pitch must be turned into a sustainable business model. The published results are therefore at the same time a sign of progress and a warning that the biggest financial challenges have not disappeared.
Sources:
- Manchester United / Business Wire – official announcement of financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 and the period to 31 March 2026. (link)
- Manchester United Investor Relations – page with quarterly reports for 2026, including the 3Q26 earnings release (link)
- Manchester United / Business Wire – announcement that Michael Carrick remains head coach until 2028. (link)
- The Guardian – report on the financial effect of Ruben Amorim’s dismissal, the reduction of losses and estimates of Champions League revenue (link)