Manchester United announce record revenues of £590m

Manchester United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward says record-breaking revenues for 2018 demonstrate "continued strong, long-term financial performance".

United brought in a record £590m over the year ending 30 June 2018 - and are expecting revenues to rise to between £615m and £630m over the coming financial year.

However, the club's operating profit of £44.1m is down from £80.8m last year, due in large part to the US federal corporate income tax rate being reduced from 35 per cent to 21 per cent.

Net debt rose 19.1 per cent to £253.7m, which the club say is predominantly down to exchange rate fluctuations.

And United paid out £295.9m in wages across the board for the 2017/18 season, an increase of £32.4m from the previous year.

The accounts say this is "primarily due to player salary uplifts related to participation in the UEFA Champions League", although Alexis Sanchez's January arrival will also have made an impact.

United remain about £90m ahead of neighbours Manchester City in terms of revenues - the Premier League champions posted a record figure of £500.5m for 2017/18.

Woodward said: "Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to add to Manchester United's 66 and Jose's 25 trophies. That is what our passionate fans and our history demands.

"We are committed to our philosophy of blending top academy graduates with world class players and are proud that, once again, last season we had more academy graduate minutes on the pitch than any other Premier League club.

"Our increased revenue expectation for the year demonstrates our continued strong long-term financial performance which underpins everything we do and allows us to compete for top talent in an increasingly competitive transfer market."

Credit: Skysports.com