Manchester United chief Ed Woodward insists club is ‘committed to winning trophies’ after record revenues

United have suffered difficult start to the season under Solskjaer

Mark Critchley
Northern Football Correspondent
Tuesday 24 September 2019 08:06 EDT
Comments
Manchester United: 2019/20 Premier League season preview

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ed Woodward has insisted that everyone at Manchester United is ‘committed to winning trophies’ despite the club’s difficult start to the Premier League season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have taken just eight points from their first six games, having suffered their second defeat of the campaign on Sunday against West Ham.

United spent approximately £140m on three new players during the summer, but there remains unrest among supporters following last season’s sixth-place finish.

Upon the announcement of record revenues of £627.1m, United’s executive vice-chairman reiterated that the club is engaged in a rebuilding process under Solskjaer.

“We remain focused on our plan of rebuilding the team and continuing to strengthen our youth system, in line with the philosophy of the club and the manager,” Woodward said.

“This is reflected in the recent addition of three exciting first team players, key player contract extensions and the talent we have coming through our academy.”

Woodward added: “Everyone at Manchester United is committed to delivering on our primary objective of winning trophies.”

The remarks echo those made by a United spokesperson in a recent fans’ forum, when the club stressed that their focus is not profit but success on the pitch.

United’s £627.1m in revenues for the 2018-19 season was an increase of around 6 per cent from 2017-18, predominantly due to a rise in broadcast income from participation in the Champions League.

Failure to qualify for this year’s Champions League is expected to result in a reduction in revenues, which are expected to fall between £560m to £580m.

The club’s wage bill increased to £332.3m last year, due to “investment in the first team playing squad”. It is approximately a 12 per cent rise on the previous year’s wage bill and 53 per cent of the club’s turnover.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in