Manchester United owes £969.6m through a combination of gross debt, bank borrowings, and outstanding transfer fees with associated payments, according to new figures.
The club released its second-quarter results on 31 December on Thursday.
Unlike previous years, there was no investors’ call afterward as a result of the ongoing “strategic review”.
This could lead to the sale of the Premier League club.
The review itself is centered on how to meet the club’s long-term capital investment needs, specifically for improvements to Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training ground, and – it is being stressed – is not due to any issues with short-term liquidity.
Nevertheless, the amount owed to the club has grown.
While the principal debt remains at $650m, a change in the exchange rate meant the club owed £535.7m compared to £477.1m at the same point in the previous year.
In addition, £206.2m has been taken from a rolling credit facility, with another £227.7m owed in outstanding transfer fees. The club did have £31m in cash or equivalent, but the overall sum remains just short of £1bn.
BBC Sport has been told the figures are evidence of a “stretched” financial situation, although it is being stressed that this has already changed for the better, due to bumper matchday revenues and impressive season ticket sales – and they expect that to continue.
Indeed, in posting profits of £6.3m for the quarter, United has also revealed sponsorship revenue has increased 43.2% to £50.4m over the prior quarter. The club said this was due to the impact of their training kit agreement with Tezos, plus a ‘one-off sponsorship credit’, which they have opted not to detail.
Wages were down £20.4m to £77.3m, a decrease of 20.9% as Erik ten Hag’s team is not in this season’s Champions League.
