Manchester United earned more money than any other Premier League club over the course of the of the 2019/20 campaign, new data has revealed.
The Reds recorded a turnover of £509million through every avenue possible, such as from TV rights, merchandise sales, ticket sales and much, much more.
Considering that the 2019/20 campaign was paused from March until the eventual restart in mid-June because of the coronavirus pandemic, United have not come out of that situation in too bad a position, despite being one of the 16 Premier League clubs to have posted a pre-tax loss.
United suffered losses amounting to £20.8million for that financial year, but it was a lot less than some of their Premier League rivals, such as cross-city neighbours Manchester City, who recorded losses, pre-tax, of £125.1million.
In total, Premier League clubs lost a total of £979.3million that season, with only Chelsea (£35.7m), Sheffield United (£18.8m), Norwich City (£2.1m) and Burnley (£0m) emerging from that season in the green and their heads above water.
In terms of clubs that lost money that season, no club lost less than United in terms of those who did drop into the red, with Newcastle United coming just behind them in that category at £22.5million.
In terms of the combined turnover made across the Premier League as a whole for the 2019/20 campaign, it was slightly down on the 2018/19 figure, with it confirmed that the level of turnover stood at £4.5billion. In 2018/19 it was up at £5.2billion. It was its lowest figure since the 2015/16 season, highlighting that the pandemic had a significant impact.
As for the wage to income ratio, United found themselves in a much healthier position than almost every other Premier League club. The data shows that 56 per cent of the income the Reds generated that season was spent on wages across the board. Only Sheffield United (55 per cent) and Tottenham Hotspur (46 per cent) spent less on wages. In comparison, former Premier League club AFC Bournemouth topped that particular chart with a whopping 113 per cent of their income going on wages.
As for the monetary value of those outgoings, Premier League clubs spent a total of £3.3billion on wages during the 2019/20 season, with City ranking at the top of the pile. They spent £354.1million on wages that season. United ranked in third in that particular league table, splashing out £284million.
Sheffield United, now of the Championship, spent the least on wages that season, spending £78.5million.
In terms of matchday revenue being earned through ticket sales, the income levels on that score, understandably, were down, with supporters being locked out of stadiums from March that season.
Tottenham came out on top in this category, earning £94.5million through matchday revenue. United, though, did rank second, scooping £89.9million.
Although supporters up and down the country have all missed attending matches, just as clubs have missed welcoming them, the truth is that match-going fans aren’t as important as those sitting at home watching on TV.
Broadcast revenue accounted for 52 per cent of income during the 2019/20 campaign for the Premier League as a whole, which is massively more than the 13 per cent for those who attended matches. Liverpool earned the most from the broadcasters at £201.6million, with United earning the fourth-most amount at £140.2million.
As for commercial income, United topped that category by quite some distance, earning a total of £279million from that particular avenue. That amounts to a total of 54 per cent of their overall turnover. That makes the Old Trafford club one of only two clubs to rely more heavily on their commercial deals than any other form of income.
City are the other, with their £246.3million worth of sponsorship deals amounting to 51 per cent of their overall income.
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