Manchester United highest indebted football club in the world-Uefa report
Manchester United has €200million more net debt than any other football club in Europe, new research from Uefa has shown.
According to Belfast Telegraph report, the European Club Football Landscape report shows the amount of money the Old Trafford club owes has now grown to €536m (£464m).
While debt levels across the continent have decreased each year for the past five years – something Uefa puts down to its financial fair play regulations – United’s has grown by 25 per cent in the past year alone.
The amount of debt accrued by United since the Glazer family bought the club in 2005 has been a source of great anger among the club’s fans.
Nevertheless, it’s important to look at these figures in context. As the Uefa report highlights, the level of debt should be viewed alongside revenue and long-term assets – an area of notable strength for United.
While the value of the Manchester club’s debt is roughly equal to its annual revenue and only 80 per cent of assets, of more concern are clubs like QPR (480 per cent of assets and 250 per cent of revenue) and Fenerbahce (610 per cent of assets).
Although United posted record revenues of £513m this year, the repercussions of Brexit – noticeably on the sterling exchange rate – added to an increase in its debt.
Top 10 football clubs by debt
- Manchester United – €536m
- Benfica – €336m
- Inter – €306m
- Valencia – €285m
- QPR – €279m
- AC Milan – €249m
- CSKA Moscow – €224m
- Galatasaray – €222m
- Juventus – €209m
- Roma – €208m
