Manchester United "well-positioned operationally and financially to navigate this global crisis" - Ed Woodward

Edward Gareth Woodward. English accountant and investment banker who is the Executive Vice-Chairman of Manchester United FC and effectively the Chief Executive overseeing its operations. Photo: Getty

Ed Woodward believes Manchester United  are resilient enough to cope with "one of the most extraordinary and testing periods" in their 142-year history after the club offered a taster of the coronavirus' vast financial impact.


Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men last played 10 weeks ago, when they thrashed LASK in a Europa League last-16 clash forced behind closed doors due to Covid-19 measures in Austria.

The Premier League was suspended the following day and that has taken its toll on the balance sheet, with United withdrawing previous guidance of revenues reaching up to £580million in 2019-20.

Their third-quarter results up until March 31 accounted for just 18 days of football's suspension, but United recorded an overall loss of £3.3m for the quarter as broadcast revenues dropped 51.7 per cent compared to the previous year due to an anticipated £20m rebate to broadcasters.

With £15million of that figure included in these results, chief financial officer Cliff Baty said the Old Trafford giants "estimate that Covid-19 had a negative impact of roughly £23m" on their revenues until the end of March.

The true impact will not become clear until the end-of-year results, but resilience was the buzzword as Woodward and other executives spoke to investors.

"Manchester United is a resilient club and a resilient company," United's executive vice-chairman Woodward said.

"We're well-positioned, both operationally and financially, to navigate this global crisis and we very much look forward to returning to play and building upon the strong on-pitch momentum we experienced up to mid-March when we stopped."
SportsMole