Stats

Man Utd debt under the Glazers: every year since 2008

What the 2005 takeover has cost Manchester United, year by year, from the club's own accounts.

Updated latest accounts FY2026

One source only. Unlike our other stats pages, most of these figures come from a single source: Manchester United's own audited accounts (its annual reports and SEC 20-F filings). Figures marked * have also been confirmed by a second, independent source.

The Glazers bought United with borrowed money and put the debt on the club. Twenty years on, here's the bill, so the argument starts from the actual numbers.

  • Net interest/financing costs since 2005 (Kieran Maguire): over £1bn (to FY2026).
  • Cash interest paid since 2005 (Swiss Ramble): £743m (to FY2022).
  • Interest paid since 2005 (Price of Football): £837m (to FY2020).
  • Cash interest paid FY2009-FY2026 (sum of club cash flow statements): £713.4m (to FY2026).
  • Dividends paid since 2016 (Swiss Ramble): £166m (to FY2022).
  • Dividends paid since 2005 (sum of club cash flow statements): £166.2m (to FY2026).

Year by year

YearGross debtNet debtNet finance costsDividendsRevenueProfit before tax
FY2008£699.2m*£649.4m*––£256.2m–
FY2009£716.6m*£566.1m£117.4m£0m£278.5m*£6.1m
FY2010£773.3m£609.5m£108.6m£0m£286.4m*-£44.3m
FY2011£458.9m£308.3m*£51.3m£0m£331.4m*£12m
FY2012£436.9m£366.3m£49.5m£10m£320.3m*-£4.7m
FY2013£389.2m*£294.8m£70.8m*£0m£363.2m*-£8.8m
FY2014£341.8m*£275.4m£27.4m£0m£433.2m*£40.5m*
FY2015£411m*£255.2m*£35.2m*£0m£395.2m*-£3.6m*
FY2016£490.1m£260.9m*£20m£20.1m£515.3m*£48.8m*
FY2017£503.4m*£213.1m*£24.3m*£23.3m£581.2m*£56.5m*
FY2018£495.8m*£253.7m*£18m*£22m*£590m*£26.1m*
FY2019£511.2m£203.6m*£22.5m*£23.3m*£627.1m*£27.5m*
FY2020£525.6m£474.1m*£26m£23.2m*£509m*-£20.8m
FY2021£530.2m£419.6m*-£12.9m£10.7m*£494.1m*-£24m
FY2022£636.1m£514.9m*£62.2m*£33.6m*£583.2m*-£149.6m*
FY2023£613.3m£537.3m£21.4m*£0m£648.4m*-£32.6m*
FY2024£546.6m£473.1m£61.4m*£0m£661.8m*-£130.7m*
FY2025£637m*£550.9m£21.2m*£0m£666.5m*-£39.7m*
FY2026£689m*£621.7m£69.6m*£0m£677.6m*-£47m

Financial years end on 30 June. Pounds, as reported. Net debt is borrowings minus cash. Net finance costs is the charge in the accounts, not the cash paid; a minus figure means currency gains outweighed the interest that year. A dash means the figure wasn't published or couldn't be found. The takeover debt from 2005 to 2007 sat in the Glazers' holding companies, which these accounts don't cover. Headlines quoting "over £1bn of debt" add money owed on transfers, so they aren't comparable with the figures here.

Ownership timeline

  • 12 May 2005: Malcolm Glazer's Red Football agrees to buy Cubic Expression's 28.7% stake, taking holding to ~57%; passes 75% on 16 May 2005.
  • 22 June 2005: Manchester United plc delisted from the London Stock Exchange.
  • 28 June 2005: Glazers reach 98% and begin compulsory squeeze-out; ~£790m leveraged takeover.
  • 22 January 2010: £504m bond issue to refinance bank debt.
  • 22 November 2010: Remaining PIK loans (~£220m) repaid.
  • 10 August 2012: IPO of Class A shares on the NYSE.
  • 24 December 2023: Sir Jim Ratcliffe agrees to buy 25% of Class B and up to 25% of Class A shares (~$1.3bn) and commit $300m for infrastructure.
  • 20 February 2024: Ratcliffe deal completes via Trawlers Ltd; $200m (£158.5m) first injection takes stake to 27.7%; INEOS takes control of football operations.
  • 18 December 2024: Final $100m (£79.2m) tranche paid, stake rises from 27.70% to 28.94%; shares transferred from Trawlers to INEOS.

Ticket prices

  • February 2024: 2024/25 adult season tickets up ~5% (second successive rise after 11-season freeze); cheapest adult season ticket £551 to £579; under-16 prices frozen.
  • 26 November 2024: All remaining 2024/25 match tickets set at flat £66, scrapping child and over-65 concessions and Europa League knockout discount; MUST called it 'offensive'.
  • 17 March 2025: 2025/26 season tickets up 5% (third straight year) despite calls for a freeze; under-16s frozen; new match categorisation for non-season-ticket pricing.
  • 6 March 2026: 2026/27 season tickets up ~5% (fourth straight year), just over £2/match for adults; cheapest adult £646; executive prices frozen; ~600 fans relocated for hospitality.
  • 23 September 2026: Kieran Maguire estimates average match ticket revenue per fan (incl. corporate) rose from about £88-89 to £106 in FY2026.

More on the club's owners in our boardroom section.

Use these numbers

Free to use with a link back. Please credit: Manchester Divided, “Man Utd debt under the Glazers: every year since 2008”, updated 19 October 2026. https://manchesterdivided.com/stats/man-utd-debt-glazers/

The raw data is at /stats/debt.json. Spotted an error? Email dan@manchesterdivided.com.

Sources