MANCHESTER — The Premier League's damning judgement that Abu Dhabi United Group paid Manchester City "a total of £830.69m, payable and paid" in circumvention of financial regulations landed less than five days after Manchester United filed extended year-end accounts to 30 June 2026 to the New York Stock Exchange, laying bare a stark financial contrast in the city. While City's owners were found to have ploughed money in, United's filing showed £37m in interest payments for the year, up from £34m, with respected football finance blogger Swiss Ramble estimating net interest since the Glazers' leveraged takeover in 2005 has now reached £852m.
Chief executive Omar Berrada said: "While these results confirm that we are on the right trajectory, we will continue to take a disciplined approach to ensure our finances remain sustainable." The comment followed a third-place Premier League finish that secured a return to the Champions League after a two-year absence and record revenues of £677.6m, projected to rise to £760m in 2026-27. Yet United also confirmed they had spent £191.7m on new players since 30 June — notably Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans plus academy additions including England youth international Tynan Thompson — with payments due in the next five years, and had borrowed an additional £90m to take overall debt to £1.15bn, up from £667m in accounts to June 2021.
Prior to 30 June, United's transfer debt stood at £375m, with £218m due before 30 June 2027, plus a further £122.8m in potential add-on payments if targets are met for players already signed including Baleba, Santos and Tielemans. The club added $125m (£94.36m) to its main debt in a June restructuring and disclosed on 23 September that £63.5m had been spent on land for a proposed new stadium, whose funding model is still to be determined — a move many fans who oppose a new ground believe should have funded Michael Carrick's squad. On the pitch, Carrick over-achieved: United's wage bill fell to £302m in 2025-26 from £313m in 2025, when it ranked fifth in the Premier League, with a wages-to-turnover ratio of 45% that was the best in the division last season despite finishing 15th in 2024-25.
The restraint was evident in the summer window, where United's £148m outlay was below newly promoted Ipswich and Hull, while sales generated just £47m by the 1 September deadline — 11th in the Premier League and more than only Liverpool among the 'big six'. Since selling Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan for £74m in 2019, United have generated more than £25m for a player only four times — for Mason Greenwood, Scott McTominay, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho — and this summer sold youngsters Radek Vitek to Middlesbrough and Toby Collyer to West Brom for lower-than-anticipated fees, while Tyler Fredricson and James Overy left for no fee, all with significant sell-on and buy-back clauses. Vitek's deal could eventually net £14m. Fans held their latest ownership protest before the home defeat by Manchester City on 13 September, a reminder that the Premier League's June 2023 vote to cap future leveraged buyouts at around 65% of a club's value — seen as a response to ALK Capital's Burnley takeover in December 2020 — came 18 years too late for many at Old Trafford, where Berrada must now balance cost control, transfer liabilities and stadium funding while staying competitive; the stakes are clear after United earned £80m for reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 2017-18 compared to £31m for reaching the Europa League final in 2024-25, with a £10m annual reduction in the Adidas shirt deal if Champions League qualification is missed.