Manchester United’s fiscal 2026 results, announced on Wednesday, framed the year as a commercial win: revenue up to £677.6m, an operating profit of £22.6m after last year’s £18.4m loss, and adjusted EBITDA of £216.4m, an 18.4% jump.
The full-year net loss still widened to £43m from £33m the year before, dragged down by finance costs and an unrealised foreign-exchange hit on the club’s dollar-denominated borrowings.
Net debt reached £621.7m at 30 June 2026 as cash reserves shrank to £67.2m from £86.1m. Total borrowings, split between the club’s US dollar bonds and its revolving credit facility, stood at £689m.
“We are pleased to have secured record revenues and adjusted EBITDA which demonstrates the underlying strength of our business, particularly in a season without European football,” chief executive Omar Berrada said in the earnings statement.
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Broadcasting saved the top line
Broadcasting income rose 19.6% to £206.8m on the back of a stronger Premier League finish, while commercial revenue fell 4.8% to £317.3m and matchday income dipped 4.2% to £153.5m.
Manchester United finished third in the 2025-26 Premier League, ending a year without continental football and securing a return to the Champions League.
The club has guided investors to revenue of £740m to £760m for fiscal 2027 and adjusted EBITDA of £205m to £225m, targets built on the group-stage income now flowing back in.
The debt figure predates the summer window
The reported net debt captures the position at 30 June 2026 and does not reflect the summer transfer window that has just closed. Additional borrowing to finance instalment payments on new signings has taken the club’s overall debt burden higher still.
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That trajectory has amplified scrutiny of the leveraged financial structure inherited from the Glazer family’s takeover, which loaded acquisition debt on to the club and still colours the balance sheet. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS bought a minority stake and took control of football operations, but the Glazer family remains the majority owner.
Old Trafford turns on both sets of owners
Around a fortnight before the results, supporter group The 1958 replaced the flags on the Stretford End with a banner reading “The way you treat us is a disgrace”, ahead of the 13 September Manchester derby, which United lost 1-0 to a 10-man Manchester City.
The dispute has been fuelled by an anti-touting crackdown that stripped 685 supporters of their season tickets and sanctioned another 464, along with the removal of fans from part of the lower south stand to expand corporate hospitality at Old Trafford.
Alongside the earnings, United confirmed £63.5m spent during the year on land acquired for a proposed 100,000-seat stadium. The club is expected to publish its first-quarter fiscal 2027 results in November.
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