Manchester United report seventh straight annual loss and sell fans £125 grass clumps

Manchester United reported their seventh straight annual ⁠loss on Wednesday as costs related to player acquisitions and the sacking of Ruben Amorim this ⁠year pushed them ⁠deeper into ​the red.

The wider loss comes despite drastic actions taken by the British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the club’s minority shareholder and ⁠head of its football operations, to revive profitability, including by cutting jobs and raising ticket prices.

United reported a net loss of £43m for the year ended 30 June 2026, wider than £33m a year ​ago, incurring an exceptional cost of £8.2m related to Amorim’s ‌departure as head coach and restructuring.

The loss came despite record revenue of £677.6m – up 1.7%. United’s New York-listed shares, which have gained almost 24% this ‌year, were down 3% in US premarket trading. The 20-times English champions have racked up losses of nearly £190m since fiscal 2024.

“We will continue to take a disciplined approach to ensure our finances remain sustainable,” the CEO, Omar Berrada, ​said in a statement.

A late surge last season under the management of Michael Carrick helped the club finish third in the Premier League and secure a Champions League spot. That allowed United to ⁠forecast on Wednesday record revenue of between £740m and £760m for ​fiscal 2027.

United’s wage bill was £302m, down £11.3m or 3.6% on the previous year. The club attributed the drop to changes in the men’s first-team squad and the headcount reduction programmes embarked on over the past two years.

The loss is regarded by United insiders as evidence of the need to continue to work hard on financial discipline.

United saved some money on January’s exit of Amorim. The departure of the Portuguese and his staff was initially recorded as an exceptional item costing £16.7m in the third-quarter results published in May, but that is understood to have been the maximum exposure the club faced from his exit. That has been significantly reduced because he has taken on the Milan job.