Man Utd announce big losses with recruitment plans ‘ahead of schedule’

Manchester United football director John Murtough says the club are “ahead of schedule” with their recruitment plans as they posted big losses for the 2021-22 season.

United lost £115.8million last season, despite revenues rising by 18 per cent to £583m.

The club’s debt rose from £419.5m in 2021 to £514.9m this year, an increase of more than 22 per cent, while transfer activity saw wages leap by 19.1 per cent to £384.2m.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho were among United’s recruits last year, with the Red Devils then spending heavily ahead of the current campaign following the appointment of Erik ten Hag.

Murtough says such an outlay was necessary, after a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last term saw United miss out on Champions League football, but the level of spending will be reduced for future windows.

“During the summer we made significant investment in the first team squad with the permanent addition of five regular starters, including a balance of experienced international players and younger, emerging talent,” he said on Thursday.

“We also saw a higher-than-usual number of departures, and this was an equally important part of refreshing the squad after the disappointing 2021-22 season.

“We will continue to support Erik in ensuring he has players with the right quality and characters to achieve success, while ensuring that investment remains consistent with our commitment to financial sustainability.

“Overall, we are ahead of schedule in our recruitment plans as envisaged at the start of the summer, and we do not anticipate the same level of activity in future windows. As always, our planning focuses on the summer window.”

United signed Lisandro Martinez, Anthony, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Martin Dubravka following the appointment of Ten Hag from Ajax.

The cost of terminating previous boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s contract, as well as that of interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who did not take up a two-year consultancy role at the end of last season, and their coaching staff amounted to £24.7m.