Why Man Utd have FFP problems

Stuart Telford

• 4 Jul 2023 10:58 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United only have £65 million left to spend this summer after Mason Mount's arrival from Chelsea due to Financial Fair Play regulations s things stand. How do they find themselves in such a predicament?

Man Utd remain one of the most marketable brands in football if not all of sports, and the Glazer family have received two separate bids of at least £5 billion - from Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe - for ownership of the club.

But due to their historical spending, United's transfer budget was £120 million at the start of the summer, and that will be dented by a further £55m once Mason Mount completes his transfer from Chelsea - before taking potential sales into account.

READ: Mason Mount's ASTRONOMICAL salary with Man Utd

The Red Devils have also linked with moves for Harry Kane, Declan Rice and others this summer, but it seems the bulk of the remaining budget now looks likely to be spent on Inter Milan's Andre Onana, with Erik ten Hag keen to replace David de Gea as the club's No.1.

Glazer investment has been ZERO

How did it come to this? The Price of Football's Kieran Maguire explains.

"Some have contacted me regarding why Manchester United [have] FFP issues given Premier League limit is a £105 million loss over three years," he posted to Twitter. "That's not quite the case: the limit is £15m PLUS up to £90m in equity investment by owners. The Glazer family have only put in £0m in those three years so allowable loss still £15m."

READ: Man Utd takeover: Jassim confident of beating Ratcliffe… but not the Glazers

That the Glazers haven't contributed any equity investment for three years will be galling to read for many a Red Devils follower.

The family's patriarch Malcolm bought the club for £800m in 2005, for which £500m was borrowed, and although the team kept up on the pitch initially, United haven’t won a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson's last in 2013.