ManU reported a loss for the first three months of the year "as operating expenses soared," according to Bill Wilson of the BBC. It lost £3.8M ($4.9M) between January and March, down from a £13.7M profit in the same period last year. The club incurred higher player contract expenses, and was also "hit by adverse foreign exchange movements." But total revenues were 3% higher at £127.2M ($164.4M) and the club now "expects record full year revenues" of £560M-£570M ($723.6M-$736.5M). Executive Vice-Chair Ed Woodward said, "We are forecasting better full-year financial performance than expected and as such have raised our revenue and profit guidance for the year." Broadcast revenues were up 12.9% at £31.4M ($40.6M). Commercial revenues were "slightly higher, while matchday income edged lower." ManU increased its "forecast for profits" to between £185M ($239M) and £195M ($252M) for '16-17. Meanwhile, net debt at the end of March stood at £366.3M ($473.3M), an increase of £17.6M over the year (BBC, 5/16). REUTERS' Rahul B. reported ManU's previous full-year revenue forecast was £530M-£540M ($684.8M-$697.7M), while its previous EBITDA forecast was £170M-£180M ($219.7M-$232.6M) (REUTERS, 5/16).
HIGH STAKES: The BBC's Simon Stone reported ManU will "miss out on" £50M ($64.6M) if it fails to beat Dutch side Ajax in the Europa League final on May 24. The game in Stockholm is the club's "only remaining chance of reaching next season's Champions League." Failure to qualify for Europe's "flagship club competition" for a second successive season would trigger a £21M ($27.1M) penalty clause in its 10-year, £750M ($969.1M) sponsorship deal with adidas. ManU also expects to earn up to £30M ($38.8M) more "by being in the Champions League." Club CFO Cliff Baty said, "For us, the bigger prize is adidas and Champions League." The potential £21M loss of income from adidas represents 30% of this season's "anticipated" £70M ($90.5M) annual payment. It would be "spread across the 10-year length of the contract," with £4.2M ($5.4M) deducted immediately to cover the first two years of the deal, and £2.1M ($2.7M) "knocked off the payments for each remaining year" (BBC, 5/16). In London, James Ducker reported Baty said, "Clearly the Champions League has greater revenues but we have designed an offset within salary costs and our bonus structure which attempts to dampen the impact between being in the Champions League or Europa League" (TELEGRAPH, 5/16). Also in London, Hughes & Hirst reported the final in Stockholm has "effectively produced the biggest players' bonus pool in history" because the competition offers the additional prize of automatic qualification for next season's Champions League, which under the club's "unusual pay policy" would mean that "most" of ManU's players would get a 25% pay raise. The club's players would also receive a £1M ($1.29M) bonus under the club's "performance incentive scheme," to be split among the squad, but "this potential windfall pales in comparison to the dramatic increase in their basic salary should they beat Ajax." ManU's contracts assume that the side is always in Europe's premier club competition, and all players who are paid more than £20,000 ($25,800) per week are docked 25% of their salary "if they fail to qualify." The mandatory wage cut applies to 22 of ManU's first-team players -- amounting to £28M ($36.2M) (LONDON TIMES, 5/16).
WORST VALUE: In London, Martyn Ziegler reported an analysis into the "value for money that each top-flight club has achieved" this season shows ManU is "ranked as the biggest losers, worse even than Sunderland." The value-for-money table "compares each club's most recent published annual wage bill with the number of points" that it has won in the Premier League. In terms of points won per £1M spent on wages, Tottenham Hotspur, second in the league table, emerged as the team that got most value for its outlay, followed by Bournemouth and Everton. The figures also highlight the wage gap between the "big five" clubs -- ManU, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool -- and the rest. The big five each had a wage bill "about double or more" than the £104.6M spent by Tottenham in the '15-16 season and, according to Spurs' annual account, its base salary bill was "only" £100M, a "slight drop on the previous year." Although all will be forgiven should ManU win the Europa League final next week and secure a Champions League slot, its struggles in the Premier League are "underlined" by the figures showing that they paid £3.57M ($4.61M) in wages for every point secured compared to Tottenham's £1.3M ($1.68M) (LONDON TIMES, 5/16).
HOUSTON DERBY: ESPN.com reported ManU and Man City's July 20 Int'l Champions Cup match will be played in Houston, the competition's organizers announced. NRG Stadium will host the Manchester derby, which will kick off at 9:30pm. It will be the "first-ever Manchester derby played on foreign soil" (
ESPN.com, 5/16).
