Man Utd admit they could breach PSR rules with 'difficult choices' expected

Suraj Radia

23 Jan 2025 19:15 GMT
3 min read

Manchester United have admitted they are in danger of breaching PSR and that fans could end up paying the price for the club’s financial struggles.

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United investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe has attracted attention in recent months with a number of cost-cutting measures such as making 250 staff redundant and lowering the amounts paid to ambassadors and charitable donations.

The alarming situation led to fan group The 1958 writing a formal letter to the club and United’s reply has since been published where they admitted they would need to make some ‘difficult choices’ to become cash positive again.

The letter read: “As previously communicated, we are however currently making a significant loss each year – totalling over £300 million in the past three years. This is not sustainable and if we do not act now we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP [financial fair play] requirements in future years and significantly impacting our ability to compete on the pitch.

“We will get back to a cash positive position as soon as possible and we will have to make some difficult choices to get there. That has included a significant reduction to our workforce as well as cuts across many areas of spend across our club.

“We do not expect fans to make up all the current shortfall – but we do need to look at our ticketing strategy to ensure we are charging the right amount, and offering the right discounts, across our products for our fans.”

© IMAGO - Sir Jim Ratcliffe is Britain's richest man.

United sales and ticket prices ‘essential’ to club resurgence

The news comes the same day as United were named the fourth-richest club in the world by Deloitte, having introduced costs to supporters such as a £66 flat rate on match tickets for members with no prior consultation with fans.

Having spent more than €200 million on players in the summer, United are restricted in the transfer market, with the club needing to sell before they can strengthen Ruben Amorim’s squad.

Alejandro Garnacho could be the most likely candidate to leave after Chelsea registered a formal interest in the winger, with Napoli also competing for a €60m deal.

United believe that these measures will help them return to the summit of European football, writing in the letter: “None of this has been easy, but we believe it is essential to restoring financial sustainability to the club which will underpin us as we work to get back to the top of English and European football.”