Richard Arnold highlights ‘key tenet’ in Man Utd financial statement and says ‘work is well underway’

Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold has said that “work is well underway” to address the club’s “disappointing” season.

United have published their financial results on the back of a season which saw them finish sixth and miss out on a place in next season’s Champions League. The club supremo said “youth” would be at the forefront of the rebuild under new boss Erik ten Hag.

While off the field, there are signs of growth again after two seasons hit by Covid-19.

Arnold said the recovery of the club’s financial position reflected “the enduring strength of our commercial operations, which in turn support our ability to continue to invest”.

The club’s net debt was £495.7m, up 11.8 per cent on 12 months ago.

And the results also stated that a ‘semi-annual cash dividend’ equating to nine cents per share would be paid to shareholders on June 24.

Manchester United did though report an almost 30 per cent increase in revenue for the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

The Red Devils’ total revenue for the three months ending March 31 of this year was £152.8m. That was up 29.2 per cent from £118.3m in the corresponding quarter.

The club earned an additional £34.1m in matchday revenue in this period. The Covid-19 pandemic had limited matchday revenue to £1.6m in the third quarter of 2021.

Overall there was an operating loss of £21.8m for the third quarter. That was compared to £21.6m 12 months ago, with broadcast revenue down by 12 per cent to £51.5m.

Richard Arnold welcomes new rules

Arnold admitted United’s season did not pan out the way they wanted.

“Work is well under way to address this, led by our football director, John Murtough and our new manager, Erik ten Hag,” Arnold said.

“Resilience and high standards are core values for Manchester United. And we are determined to achieve better results next season and beyond. Faith in youth is another key tenet of the club. And the continued success of our academy gives us confidence in the future.”

Arnold’s statement also highlighted FIFA’s more stringent regulations on agents. While UEFA’s financial sustainability regulations, capping squad costs at 70 per cent of turnover, were also welcomed.

“Overall, these changes demonstrate a welcome trend towards stronger governance and greater financial sustainability in European football,” he added.

Meanwhile, the new-look Champions League will grant an extra place to each of the two countries with the best performance record in Europe in the previous season. In four of the past five seasons, England would have benefited from one of those places.

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