MANCHESTER UNITED’S staggering wage bill has been revealed – and it is eye-watering despite the fact it was reduced by £52MILLION after Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit.
The Portuguese star, 38, allegedly earned an eye-watering £510,000-per-week during his second stint at Old Trafford.
GettyCristiano Ronaldo’s exit helped Man Utd save £52m on the wage bill[/caption]
GettyErik ten Hag’s team still had an annual wage bill of £331.4m last term[/caption]
His explosive departure last September after his infamous Piers Morgan interview helped United reduce their wage bill by £52.6m.
But the Red Devils still managed to make a £42.1m loss last season even though they enjoyed record revenues.
United have announced a total revenue of £684.4m for the 2022-23 campaign, which is the most-ever by an English team.
They also confirmed that owners the Glazer family and other shareholders will, for the first time in seven years, not receive a dividend.
According to The Times, they state that “analysts believe the proposed sale of 25 per cent of the club to Sir Jim Ratcliffe would have made the paying of a dividend after such financial losses too sensitive”.
The release of the annual results mean that United no longer have the highest annual salary bill in the Premier League after it dropped to £331.4m from £384m.
And Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea are all widely-believed to be set to overtake them in wages paid for last season.
United’s saving was largely aided by Ronaldo’s departure via mutual consent, meaning that they did not have to fork out the £16m in wages remaining on his deal.
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The North West club’s long-term debt remained at £507m while the cost of servicing that debt was £21.4m last term.
Following the release of the results, football finance author Kieran Maguire said: “The club is making losses still, but at least they are substantially lower than the £150m in 2021/22.
“The good news is that wages are only 51 per cent of income. The bad news is that other costs, especially player transfer amortisation, which is over £50m higher than two seasons ago, is not under such good control.”
However, after Erik ten Hag guided them to a top four finish and secured Champions League football this, he also warned supporters that the wage bill for this term will increase dramatically again.
Maguire added: “Wages will also rise significantly in 2023-24 due to participation in the Champions League.”
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