Man United net debt breaks $1bn after active summer window - ESPN

Manchester United's net debt has broken the $1 billion barrier for the first time due to summer borrowings for player recruitment, taking the club's overall debt to its highest level since the Glazer family takeover in 2005.

In the club's first-quarter accounts published Thursday, United's noncurrent borrowings — debt mountain built since the Glazers' leveraged takeover — were reported at £481 million ($644m).

But with United using a further £105m from their revolving credit facility — an additional borrowing mechanism — to take their total borrowings to £268m, United's total net debt has grown to £749m ($1.002bn). United have been servicing their huge debt since the Glazers, the owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL franchise, bought the previously debt-free club 20 years ago.

The INEOS Group, led by Britain's richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, became minority owners in February 2024 after acquiring a 27.7% stake in the club in a deal costing £1.3 billion.

Ratcliffe and INEOS have since undertaken a cost-cutting drive at Old Trafford aimed at making the club more sustainable.

Despite breaking the billion dollar debt mark for the first time, United chief executive Omar Berrada said the latest financial results show they are making «strong progress in our transformation of the club.»

United are without European football this season but reported a £13m operating profit for the first three months of the campaign, after a £6.9m loss in the same period last term.

United's total revenue for the period dropped by 2% to £140.3m because of the absence of continental competition for the men's team, who sit sixth in the Premier League under Ruben Amorim. The women's team, coached by Marc Skinner, sit third in the Women's Super League