Manchester United have announced their financial results for the first fiscal quarter ending 30 September 2021, with the club's debt levels now standing at £439.7m.
One of the other standout figures from the records was employee benefit expense - or staff wages in layman's terms.
Compared to the same period last year, costs in this department have increased by £16.6m, or 23.1%, due to "investment in the playing squad".
This sharp spike is unsurprising as United were indeed busy in the summer transfer window, bringing in Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane all on hefty wages. There were few sales of note, too, with Daniel James the only player sold for a transfer fee.
Despite this considerable investment in the playing squad, results have been shaky this season. United have already lost four games in the Premier League, are out of the Carabao Cup and have looked far from convincing in Europe.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under pressure to turn things around and in a statement accompanying the latest financial figures, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward - who should be leaving his role in the New Year - stressed the importance of getting results on the field.
"While these financial results today demonstrate our resilience through the pandemic, our top priority is success on the pitch. The manager, players and everyone at the club are determined to achieve that objective," the statement read.
As well as doing little to reduce their debt levels, United also operated at a net loss of £15.5m, which did at least represent an improvement from the same period last year where they ran up a loss of £30.3m.
One of the reasons for this improvement was the upsurge in matchday revenue. With a full contingent of fans now allowed back at Old Trafford, there was a staggering 1005.9% increase in this area compared with the same period last year.
For more from Matt O’Connor-Simpson, follow him on Twitter!
Source : 90min