📅 September 23, 2026

United’s Net Debt Passes $1 Billion Even as Revenue Hits a Record High

By Mav Jones · Manchester United fan writer

Manchester United published their financial results for the year ending 30 June 2026 today, and the headline number is a good one. Record revenue of £677.6 million, up from the previous high of £666.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA hit a record £216.4 million too, up 18.4 percent on last year, and the operating book flipped from an £18.4 million loss into a £22.6 million profit.

None of that stopped the overall net loss from getting worse. United lost £43 million this year, up from £33 million the year before. Seventh straight year in the red, whichever way the club wants to spin the top line.

The debt number that actually matters to fans

The figure that will land hardest with supporters is the debt. United’s net debt has broken $1 billion for the first time, and total debt now sits at roughly £1.29 billion, the highest it has been since the Glazers took over back in 2005. That is the number that explains a lot of what happened, and did not happen, over the summer.

United signed Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, but went the whole eleven week window without bringing in a single senior defender, even with Luke Shaw as the only recognised left back at the club. This is the financial backdrop to that decision. Operating expenses did fall four percent to £702 million, mostly down to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s redundancy programme, which has now cut more than 400 jobs in two years and cost £8.6 million in exceptional items in the first quarter of this financial year alone.

The £16.7m line nobody saw coming

Buried in the report is confirmation that United paid Ruben Amorim £16.7 million to leave the club. It is the first time a figure has been put on his exit, and it is a big one for a manager who lasted well under two years before Michael Carrick took over. Whatever anyone thinks of how this season has started under Carrick, that payout is a reminder of how expensive the last managerial change was, and why the board will not want to make another one lightly.

Why next year should look better

United are guiding for revenue of between £740 million and £760 million in the 2027 financial year, with adjusted EBITDA of £205 million to £225 million, both driven by Champions League football being back at Old Trafford after last season’s third place finish. Chief executive Omar Berrada called this year’s numbers proof of “the underlying strength of our business, particularly in a season without European football,” and said the club will “continue to take a disciplined approach” going forward.

There was a small win on the stadium front too. United have completed the purchase of land next to Old Trafford for the planned 100,000 seat stadium, a deal reported at £63.5 million, and confirmed the new ground will be privately financed. The plan still includes selling the naming rights to the current stadium once the move happens, a deal thought to be worth around £150 million over ten years.

Encouraging progress off the pitch, then. Whether any of it turns into a transfer budget that actually fixes the defence is the question that matters more to anyone watching Sunday’s games.