Commercial Revenue.

Key Figures · Commercial Revenue

Baseline FY2005 (pre-Glazer)

~£55M

FY2016–FY2020 growth (5 years)

+£3M

vs rivals +£25–86M same period

MANU CAGR (FY2016–FY2024)

1.5%

Big 6 average: 11.8%

Record commercial revenue

£333M

FY2025

Deloitte Money League (2026)

8th

Lowest ever – topped it 10 times

Overview

Commercial revenue – comprising sponsorship income and retail, merchandising, apparel, and product licensing – is Manchester United's largest and most structurally stable revenue segment. In fiscal year 2025, it represented 50% of total revenues of £666.5m, generating a record £333.3m.^9,10

The commercial operation's history under Glazer ownership divides into three analytically distinct phases. The first, from 2005 to approximately 2017, was a period of genuine growth – commercial revenue rose from approximately £55m to £275m, and Manchester United topped the Deloitte Football Money League in 10 of its 29 editions, most recently in 2017.^1,15 The second phase, from approximately 2017 to 2022, was characterised by stagnation: commercial revenue was essentially flat for five years, growing by only £3m in absolute terms between FY2017 and FY2020, while the club's Big Six rivals grew their commercial operations at compound annual rates between 8.6% and 19.6%.^4,11 The third phase, from 2022 onwards, has seen revenue growth resume – a record £333.3m in FY2025 – but the competitive position has not recovered: Manchester City and Liverpool overtook United in commercial revenue in FY2024, and United fell to 8th in the 2026 Deloitte Money League, the lowest position in the ranking's 29-year history.^12,16

This entry documents the commercial revenue series from 2005 to 2025, the key sponsorship deals that drove and then constrained growth, the peer comparison record, and the Deloitte Money League trajectory.

Phase I: Growth (2005–2017)

The baseline

In the last full season before the Glazer acquisition, Manchester United's commercial revenue stood at approximately £55m.¹ The club was already among the most commercially active in European football, but the Glazers' explicitly commercial orientation – and the appointment of Ed Woodward as executive vice-chairman in 2013 – accelerated the pace of deal-making. Woodward's background was in investment banking and commercial deal structuring, and his tenure produced the landmark Chevrolet and Adidas deals that drove the first major commercial step-change.

The deal architecture

The major sponsorship agreements of this phase established the commercial infrastructure that still underpins the club's revenue today. The Aon shirt sponsorship (2010–2014) was followed by a separate Aon training kit and naming rights deal for the Trafford Training Centre, worth £180m over eight years.¹⁹ In 2012, United signed a seven-year shirt sponsorship with General Motors (Chevrolet) at $80m per year – approximately £47–64m per annum depending on the exchange rate – taking effect from the 2014/15 season.²⁰ Nike declined to renew its kit manufacturing deal, citing rising costs; Adidas replaced it from 2015/16 with what was then a world-record 10-year deal worth a minimum of £750m – approximately £75m per year.²²

The combined effect of these two landmark agreements – Adidas and Chevrolet together contributing an estimated £120–140m annually – produced a step-change in FY2016, when United regained the top position in the Deloitte Football Money League for the first time since 2003/04, reporting record revenue of £515.3m (€689m).³⁰

Phase II: The Stagnation (2017–2022)

From FY2017 to FY2020, Manchester United's commercial revenue grew by approximately £3m in absolute terms – from approximately £275m to £279m. Over the same three-year window, Tottenham's commercial revenue grew by £86m, Liverpool's by £80m, Chelsea's by £37m, Manchester City's by £28m, and Arsenal's by £25m.⁴ Every major Premier League competitor outgrew United's commercial operation by a substantial margin, from a lower base.

The Greg Cordell financial analysis, reviewing Manchester United's commercial CAGR from FY2015/16 to FY2023/24, found a figure of 1.5% – against a Big Six average of 11.8% and a range of 8.6% to 19.6% across the other five clubs.¹¹

United In Focus noted in 2019 that commercial income, while "extremely high," was "no longer extraordinary" – and that after the step-change created by the Adidas and Chevrolet deals in 2015/16, "growth has been limited."³³

The Woodward thesis and its revision

In 2018, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward stated publicly that sporting achievements had "little impact" on United's commercial revenue figures – that the global brand was large enough and sticky enough to generate sponsorship income independently of results on the pitch.²⁵ The subsequent six years offered a more nuanced picture. United's commercial revenue did not collapse in the absence of major trophies, but the rate of growth fell far behind rivals who had achieved sporting success – Liverpool's Champions League win (2019), Premier League title (2020), and sustained European presence; City's consecutive Premier League titles. The stagnation period broadly coincides with the point at which this divergence became commercially visible.

COVID and the FY2021 decline

In FY2021, commercial revenue fell from £279m to £232m – a drop of £47m – primarily due to the absence of the club's pre-season tour and reduced commercial activation activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.⁵ Pre-season tours are a material commercial driver: the recovery in FY2023 (+17.5%) was itself partly attributed to the return of the 2022 pre-season tour alongside new sponsor agreements.⁷

Phase III: Record Revenues, Relative Decline (2022–2025)

Commercial revenue recovered to £303m in FY2023, reached £302.9m (flat) in FY2024, and achieved a record £333.3m in FY2025.^7,8,9 The FY2025 figure was driven by the first full year of the Snapdragon front-of-shirt deal and a 15.8% rise in retail and merchandising revenue attributed to the launch of a new e-commerce model.³⁶

In absolute terms, the FY2025 figure is a genuine record. In relative terms, the competitive position has continued to erode. Manchester City's commercial revenue reached £345m in FY2024 – £42m ahead of United – and Liverpool reached £308m, overtaking United commercially for the first time.^12,13

The Deloitte Money League trajectory

Manchester United topped the Deloitte Football Money League – which ranks clubs by total annual revenue – in 10 of its 29 editions, most recently in FY2017.¹⁵ In the 2026 edition, covering FY2025, United fell to 8th place – their lowest ever position in the ranking's history – as Liverpool claimed 5th, Arsenal 7th, and Manchester City 6th. Deloitte's Sports Business Group Leader, Tim Bridge, noted that United had "eroded considerably" from its position as the "benchmark by which everybody then went to market and set their strategy."¹⁷

For the first time since Deloitte began the rankings, no English club appeared in the top four; the top positions were held by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain – all of whom had benefited from deep runs in the expanded Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.³⁷

Structural Role: Commercial as Buffer

Commercial revenue functions as the most structurally stable of Manchester United's three revenue streams. Broadcasting revenue is directly dependent on competition – United's Europa League participation in FY2025 cost them approximately £48.9m in broadcasting income relative to the prior year's Champions League proceeds.²⁸ Matchday revenue is capacity-limited by Old Trafford's size and the number of home fixtures. Commercial revenue, by contrast, is tied primarily to multi-year contracts with renewal cycles that smooth year-to-year volatility.

In FY2025, commercial revenue rose by £30.4m while broadcasting fell by £48.9m – demonstrating both the buffering function of commercial income and its limits when the broadcasting shortfall is large enough.²⁸

The corollary is that the stagnation of commercial revenue between FY2017 and FY2022 was absorbed in part by broadcasting income from Champions League participation. When both weakened simultaneously – commercial stagnation plus European underperformance – the structural gap became fully visible.

Current Risks to Commercial Revenue

As at the end of FY2025, two significant sponsorship agreements had ended without renewal. The Tezos training kit deal, worth at least £20m per year, was not renewed. Marriott International, the club's hotel partner, did not extend its deal after expiry.²⁹ United was also without a confirmed replacement for either agreement as at the end of the 2025 summer.

Andy Green, Chief Financial Officer of the Manchester United Supporters' Trust, observed in 2025 that "there is no longer a silver bullet driving growth as in the Woodward era," noting that new revenue streams – principally stadium redevelopment – remain some years away.²⁶

Summary

Manchester United's commercial revenue grew from approximately £55m in 2005 to a record £333m in 2025 – an absolute expansion of £278m over twenty years. The narrative of that growth, however, contains two analytically distinct stories.

The first is a genuine commercial machine: the Glazers' explicitly commercial orientation, Ed Woodward's deal-making, and the landmark Adidas and Chevrolet agreements created a revenue base that was, by 2015/16, the largest in world football. The Deloitte Money League was topped 10 times.

The second story begins in FY2017. Commercial revenue grew by £3m over the following five years. The Big Six average over the same window was 11.8% CAGR. City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea all grew their commercial operations at multiples of United's rate. When the analysis is extended from FY2016 to FY2024, United's CAGR is 1.5%.

The record FY2025 figure is real. So is the 8th-place Deloitte ranking – the lowest in the report's history – and the fact that both City and Liverpool now outperform United commercially. The commercial operation remains large. It is no longer the benchmark.

Key Definitional Distinctions

Sponsorship revenue is the income received from commercial partners in exchange for branding rights, including front-of-shirt, kit manufacturing, training kit, sleeve, and category sponsorships. In FY2025, United's sponsorship revenue was £188.4m.

Retail, merchandising, apparel and product licensing (RML) covers the income from sales of branded products, both through club-operated channels and licensed third-party distributors. In FY2025, United's RML revenue was £144.9m.

Commercial revenue is the sum of these two segments. It is distinct from broadcasting revenue (television and streaming rights) and matchday revenue (ticket sales, hospitality, and stadium-related income).

The Deloitte Football Money League ranks clubs by total annual revenue across all three segments. A club's position in the Money League is determined by overall revenue, not commercial revenue alone – broadcast income from Champions League participation is a significant driver of total revenue and therefore of Money League rank.