Manchester United Cut Their Wage Bill By £53m But STILL Announce A Loss Despite Record £650m Revenue

United trumpeted record ticket sales and attendances in their latest accounts, as well as their £900m Adidas kit deal through until 2035.

But there was no update on the future of the club’s ownership – or the usual conference call with investors – as Sir Jim Ratcliffe awaits a decision on whether his £1.4billion purchase of 25 per cent of the club has been accepted by the Glazers.

United are projecting their revenues will rise to £680m next year following their return to the lucrative Champions League. Their previous highest revenues were £627m for the 2018-19 campaign.

Erik Ten Hag’s side kept their hopes of getting out of their Champions League group alive with a 1-0 win over Copenhagen on Tuesday night.

Andre Onana made a crucial late penalty save to secure the win after Harry Maguire’s goal.

United have paid the controversial dividend since 2015 and the remain the only Premier League club to hand out the regular payments to shareholders.

But they indicated last December that there were would be no payments in 2022-23 to allow greater investment in the squad.

United were operating under tighter financial restrictions in the summer due to Financial Fair Play but still spent another £180million under Eric ten Hag.

The investment in Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Altay Bayindir, with Jonny Evans, Sergio Reguilon and Sofyan Amrabat signed on loan and new contracts handed to Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot, contributed to United making an overall loss of £28.7m.

However, the new financial results once again showed why Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe were prepared to bid in excess of £5billion for a club worth little more than half that on the New York Stock Exchange.