Football finance expert claims Manchester United have no scope to buy without looking at exit door

Football Finance expert Kieran Maguire says Manchester United are “on the right side” of the Profit and Sustainability line “but do not have much wiggle room” for the summer transfer window.

These are issues that Sir Jim Ratcliffe will want to keep on top of as Manchester United co-owner, after the club was led astray by rubbish management for 18-years under Glazer ownership.

Now it’s time for a repair job. It will take longer than one transfer window to gets everything right.

Speaking on the Football Daily Podcast, as per BBC Sounds, Maguire said: “I estimated that the losses over the last three seasons are broadly in the region of £100m and you are allowed to lose £105m. That does not give them scope to buy without also having to look at the exit door.

“The wage levels at Manchester United are the third highest in the Premier League and they have traditionally been the highest. They are also in the top five within Europe, so that gives them the further problem of trying to persuade players to move on if the contracts being offered are not the same.”

They also asked Maguire if the Conference League would be lucrative enough for a club the size of United.

“Not really,” Maguire added. “They would have to win the tournament.

“They would make money from ticket sales but the prize money is pretty marginable. Plus you need to have a squad that is big enough to play Sunday and Thursday.”