United's forthcoming announcement should put a smile on Malcolm Glazer's face. Manchester United are on the verge of announcing a significant increase in annual turnover, with the total figure believed to be close to £245m. A season that saw United regain the Premier League title and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League has contributed to the latest surge in revenue, which completes a £70m increase the last five years.Four months ago Arsenal reported a turnover of £201m, in the process claiming to have become Britain's richest club. United's announcement reveals the depth of the club's irritation: for the first time its shirt sponsorship deal with Nike has been factored into the equation. As a result United are once again the unquestioned No1 in the Premier League rich list, and have hurdled back into second place behind Real Madrid in the global rankings.
The figures will be confirmed on Thursday night, when the club is expected to report over £200m turnover from its "core football activities". No doubt this will be well received by the club's newly-estimated 333 million fans, a figure landed on by the market research company TNS sport. Even more encouraging for any squad-strengthening ambitions Sir Alex Ferguson might harbour, the club's wages-turnover ratio has been reduced to 43.6%, comfortably within the 50% limit set by the Glazer family.
Despite the element of Premier League one-upmanship involved, the figures will go some way towards easing the concerns of supporters over the extravagant level of debt incurred during Malcolm Glazer's takeover in 2005.
