Man Utd have fallen to their lowest position in the 29-year history of the Deloitte Football Money League - and things could be about to get worse.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Sir Jim Ratcliffe called Manchester United one of the world's leading football brands, but the financial results don't reflect that(Image: )
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Manchester United could fall out of the top 10 of the Deloitte Football Money League next season, after plummeting to eighth in the latest report, their lowest-ever position in its 29-year history.
The report takes into account United's miserable 2024/25 season, when they finished 14th in the Premier League and suffered defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final. A total revenue of €793million for the season puts them below domestic rivals Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Although there was an increase in matchday and commercial revenues, there was a substantial year-on-year fall in broadcast revenues and the trend is set to continue into next season.
United will play just 20 matches at Old Trafford this season and have no European football at all, leading to fears their place in the top 10 in the established Deloitte report could be at risk.
"That is a major concern," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the Manchester Evening News. "When Sir Alex was there and even in the initial years [after he left], it was a toss-up at the start of each season whether it would be United or Real or Barcelona as to who would be top of that money list.
"I think it’s reflective of the tough times that the club’s going through and there's a genuine fear that they could fall out of the top 10 next season. Sir Jim Ratcliffe describes them as the world's leading football brand, but if the world's leading football brand is outside of the top 10 of revenue generators, then that's not very promising."
Maguire, from the Price of Football podcast, put United's slide down the financial table partly down to their fall down the Premier League table. Finishing 14th rather than in the top six would have cost them £30 million to £40 million, while there is also a price to pay for simply being in the Europa League.
Ruben Amorim steered United to the final of that competition in Bilbao, but even that didn't make up much of the shortfall to being outside of the Champions League at a time when a seat at Europe's top table is more financially rewarding than ever.
"With this new Swiss model, the Champions League is worth an absolute fortune," he said. "And being in the second competition, you're probably getting around about a quarter of the money that you'd get.
"Even United getting to the final, they would have earned less money than the likes of City would have generated from being knocked out by Real Madrid in the play-off round."
The value of Champions League football shows how important it is for United to secure a return to that competition this season after two successive years away.
Last weekend's win against Manchester City in Michael Carrick's first game in charge has put them back in fifth, which should be good enough to qualify, although the league table remains congested.
If Carrick can steer United back to the Champions League and they enjoy a good season next year, then it should put them back on track financially as well.
"One successful season can do it," explained Maguire. "Every match at Old Trafford in the Champions League is worth £8million or £9million in terms of ticket sales, so you've got a minimum of four matches.
"You get to the quarter-finals, you're probably looking at six or seven, so that's £60million. They'll pick up £70million or £80million in prize money as a minimum if you get that far. That’s £150million, then you get the extra £10million from Adidas and other sponsors will be kicking in as well, so that’s the thick end of an extra £200million and they bounce back to where you would expect them to be.
"Paradoxically, Manchester United fans, from a financial point of view, should want City and Liverpool to do well in the Champions League because that will cement that fifth place, which could be the difference as far as next season is concerned."
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