Manchester United spent £191.7m on new players over the summer, according to exchange filings released on Thursday, a day after the club's end-of-year financial results were published. The figure is £36.7m higher than the £155m the club said it had committed to make four signings.
Summer signings and the £36.7m gap
United signed Karl Darlow on a free transfer, Andrey Santos for £48m plus £2m in add-ons, Youri Tielemans for £35m and Carlos Baleba for £65m plus £5m in add-ons, totalling a spend of £155m including add-ons.
The £36.7m disparity could be partly explained by agent fees, typically up to 10 per cent, and the four per cent Premier League levy on transfers, which the league primarily takes to support the PFA player pension scheme. The Manchester Evening News has approached United to confirm what the disparity consists of.
Further borrowing and rising debt
United also confirmed they had borrowed another £90m since June 30. The club has a rolling credit facility, akin to a credit card, and made three further drawdowns on July 29, July 31 and August 28, totalling £120m, before paying back £30m on September 21.
The club's overall debt is now at £1.15billion, a sum that comes as plans for a new stadium push ahead.
Stadium project financing
United estimated that a new stadium alone would cost £2billion, but an updated estimate in 2026 could double costs, despite the club already being saddled with a staggering amount of debt. The project will be financed privately, and "positive conversations" with potential investors and stakeholders are ongoing.
United will sell the naming rights of the new stadium to raise capital. Earlier this year, The Sponsor compiled a European stadium naming fair market value report, which outlined that United could bank around £15m per season, equating to £150m over 10 years.
