Champions League absence hits Manchester United's revenues

Manchester United have announced that the club's revenues dipped by £38m to £395.2m last season -- an 8.8 per cent drop attributable to the club's Champions League absence. The poor season under David Moyes cost United reduced matchday income as well as prize and broadcast money, the latter of which dropped by more than 20 per cent. That's the bad news.

The good news is that in terms of commercial revenue, United are looking a whole lot rosier. 11 new sponsorship deals -- the most widely-publicised of which was a 10-year kit deal with Adidas worth £75 million -- and a return to the Champions League under Louis van Gaal have set the Reds on course to become the first English team to rake in more than half-a-billion pounds in seasonal income.

The club's chief executive Ed Woodward commented:

"As we look to the new season, we are enthusiastic about our strong position, both on and off the pitch.

"In recent weeks we have further strengthened our squad with an exciting mix of experience and youth, qualified for the group stage of the Champions League and seen an impressive launch of our partnership with Adidas. Our record revenue and EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation] guidance for 2016 reflects the underlying strength of our business and our confidence in its continued growth."

Part of that growth is set to come from the sale of more shares, through which the club is hoping to raise $400m on the New York Stock Exchange.