Cristiano Ronaldo’s return and the other three summer signings have added almost £1.3million a week to Manchester United’s wage bill, according to new financial results.
Manchester United’s wage bill has risen by nearly 25 percent following the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford.
Ronaldo rejoined United after 12 years away, his £550,000-a-week salary, plus the signings of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho, and Tom Heaton causing the sharp increase in the wage bill.
The return of Ronaldo and the other three summer signings have added almost £1.3million a week to United’s wage bill, according to the club’s latest financial results.
Wages for the three months leading up to September 30 rocketed to £88.5m, a rise of £16.6m and a 23.1 percent increase on the prior yearly quarter.
Ronaldo accounted for the majority of that hike, given his club-record salary, which also made him the highest-earner in Premier League history after he rejoined in August.
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Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said success on the pitch remains the club’s priority and said under-fire boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was focused on that goal.
“While these financial results today demonstrate our resilience through the pandemic, our top priority is success on the pitch,” said Woodward.
This rise was offset by £17.4m brought in through player sales, principally Dan James’ move to Leeds, although the club did also earn a sell-on fee from Romelu Lukaku’s transfer from Inter Milan to Chelsea.
Overall, total revenue increased by 16.1 percent to £126.5m, explained largely by the obvious increase in matchday income that came with the return of fans to games after coronavirus restrictions were lifted.
Matchday revenue was £18.8m compared to just £1.7m the previous year when games were played behind closed doors.
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