Manchester United unlikely to make big moves in January market, says Ed Woodward

Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2014 by skysports.com

Manchester United unlikely to make big moves in January market, says Ed Woodward
Old Trafford: Sharp decline in Manchester United revenue

Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward says it is unlikely the club will make serious moves in the January transfer market after their quarterly financial figures were revealed.

Figures for the first three months of the financial year revealed revenue fell 9.9% compared with the same period last year. United's overall income for the first three months of the financial year was £88.7m, down £9.8m, but the club did record a profit of £8.9m.

Failure to qualify for this season's Champions League meant big reductions in both broadcasting and matchday revenue, down 13% and 21.8% respectively, while money from commerical activity was down 5.2%.

Woodward, speaking on a conference call to investors, said confidence was high under new manager Louis van Gaal and stated that the club are not looking to bring in new faces in January.

"We are not looking to enter the market for short-term fixes," Woodward said when asked asked whether United intended to strengthen their defence in January.

"However we have targets we are looking at for next summer and should any of those become available in January we would consider acting but we all need to recognise that is a low probability."

A lack of European football did not prevent United securing a record kit deal during the quarter, and Woodward predicted further "growth opportunities" as the financial year progresses.

He said: "While we recognise that the 2014/15 fiscal year financial results will reflect our absence from the Champions League, we signed the largest kit sponsorship deal in the history of sport in the first quarter.

"With that concluded, we are excited to focus our efforts on the meaningful growth opportunities in sponsorship, digital media and retail and merchandising."

Concern

Sports business consultant David Bick told, the results should be of concern to the club's shareholders and warned a prolonged spell out of the Champions League would have a knock-on effect on the £750m Adidas kit deal that kicks in next summer.

He said: "Certainly it's a record deal, worth an average of £75m a year, but there will be a rub and that is there will almost certainly be a penalty clause in that contract in the event that they don't qualify for the Champions League.

"Last season they earned 47-8m euros just from the additional media rights, then you have to add on matchday revenue and commercial revenue.

"If they don't qualify I think that Adidas deal will come down quite considerably, and it won't compensate for the loss of the other side of the revenue. It comes back to the fundamental - if you're normally a regular Champions League participant then being out of it carries severe financial penalties."

Manager Louis van Gaal has suggested it might take three years to revive United and Bick said: "My anaylsis suggests if you're out (of the Champions league) for more than two years it starts to have a very serious impact. In purely financial terms they can't afford to wait three years."