Football Business : Premier League club Manchester United like any other football club worldwide in facing the pinch of Covid-19 pandemic. The latest financial report of the club has revealed 19.5% dip in revenues and operating loss of US$35.3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2021.
Total revenue of the Premier League side stood at US$142.2 million, a drop of 19.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, when the Premier League side made an US$14.3 million profit. Unsurprisingly, with fans still unable to attend games due to the health crisis, match-day revenue fell dramatically from US$28.8 million to US$2.2 million, a dip of 92.3 per cent.
United’s commercial revenue was also down, falling from US$104.9 million to US$77.9 million. Broadcast revenue reached US$62.1 million, an increase of 44.7 per cent, as a result of the 2019/29 Premier League season being completed in July.
Alongside rivals Liverpool, United were recently revealed to be at the heart of the controversial Project Big Picture plans, which included a major restructure of English soccer and would have seen greater power handed to the Premier League’s so-called ‘big six’ clubs.
However, Woodward made no mention of the proposal in United’s financial statement, instead stating that the club recognise not all teams “are in as robust a financial position”, while also saying that the Premier League “has a responsibility” to support the wider English soccer pyramid.
He added: “We will continue to push for this support, both through emergency assistance during the pandemic, and through longer-term reforms to ensure that the success of the Premier League is reinforced for the benefit of the national game as a whole.”
Premier League table 2020/21
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Leicester City | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| 2 | Tottenham | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 17 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| 4 | Southampton | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 15 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| 7 | Everton | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| 8 | Crystal Palace | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | Wolves | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 13 |
| 10 | Man City | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 | |
| 12 | West Ham | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -3 | 11 |
| 14 | Man United | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 10 |
| 15 | Leeds | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 10 |
| 16 | Brighton | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 6 |
| 17 | Fulham | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -8 | 4 |
| 18 | West Brom | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | -11 | 3 |
| 19 | Burnley | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -9 | 2 |
| 20 | Sheffield Utd | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -10 | 1 |
