Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has stated Manchester United will be among the 'biggest losers' with Premier League matches set to be held behind closed doors.
The Premier League continues to push ahead with their Project Restart plans with the intention of resuming the 2019/20 season in mid-June.
However, it has become clear that fans will not be able to be in attendance while the coronavirus crisis continues, with suggestions that such restrictions could be in place until a vaccine is found and distributed.
That means the likelihood of fans being in attendance for matches anytime soon is slim and it could mean that the 2020/21 season begins, or is even completed entirely, without spectators in the stands.
That will significantly impact the finances of Premier League clubs, with matchday revenue being a major source of income, and as Old Trafford is the biggest club stadium in England, Maguire has warned that United will be among the clubs to feel the biggest impact.
“In terms of matchday attendance, I think the biggest losers would be Manchester United because they’ve got the ground with the biggest capacity and they’d be making over £100m in income," he told M.E.N. Sport.
"Second would probably be Spurs because they were really smart in creating a multi-functional stadium where it was easy to host NFL games, you could effectively wheel the pitch in and out, so it was useful for concerts and the stadium was very much geared towards being a seven-day-a-week revenue earner, so I think Manchester United and Spurs would be the two biggest losers there.”
