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Financial expert Stefan Borson believes Manchester United’s “exceptional costs” this year means the club will be “close to the wire” in terms of Financial Fair Play regulations in what could prove a decisive blow to new head coach Ruben Amorim.
Borson, a former Premier League financial advisor, reveals the Red Devils have incurred a “big hit” this year after “spending money they probably weren’t budgeting for this year.”
He references the costs involved of dismissing Erik ten Hag, and the price paid to hire Amorim as his replacement, as well as the number of staff redundancies recently invoked at Old Trafford, as the basis for this unexpected outlay.
“The thing with United’s finances, we don’t know how close they were or even whether they have breached for 2023-24,” Borson states. “I think it’s very unlikely they breached, but it looks like the sort of things that got them over the hurdle were allowances in respect of the charges for the Jim Ratcliffe sale process.”
“The impact of that if that’s an allowable deduction, which means they are okay for 2023-24, that flows through to the next two years in terms of the calculation.
“Let’s assume they got through 2023-24 and effectively started this year on zero, the costs that they have incurred in respect of the dismissal of Ten Hag and hiring of Amorim, and also some of the costs that they have had from a corporate perspective in terms of redundancies and exceptional costs there, they have had quite a big hit that they probably weren’t budgeting for this year.”
The financial expert believes the Red Devils may have spent “more than £35 million” on the decision to replace Ten Hag with Amorim which will “dramatically affect” the club’s FFP balance sheet.
Amorim, widely considered one of the most talented young managers in Europe following his impressive four-year stint at Sporting Lisbon, is expected to implement his three-at-the-back system when he arrives at Old Trafford next week.
It’s likely the club will have to invest heavily in the first-team squad to help the Portuguese manager to effectively achieve this, given the obvious gaps at wingback, as well as additional recruitment in defence and attack.
This would require United to invest heavily in the transfer market over the coming windows – something Borson believes will be made much more difficult by the money spent to bring in the 39-year-old coach, as well as the staff overhaul INEOS have implemented since gaining full control over the football operation at Old Trafford in February.
The financial rules clubs must abide by are different domestically compared to continentally, with UEFA’s system stricter than the English Football Association’s.
This means United are likely to be “close to the wire for FFP and PSR (Profits and Sustainability), particularly in Europe”, he concludes. “That bit is definitely true.”
It appears Amorim’s ability to get the most out of the existing United squad will prove crucial to his success in Manchester, rather than being able to rely on the club’s financial might to buttress him with a wealth of new signings to implement the tactical revolution INEOS have hired him to produce.
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