Sponsorship and broadcast deals to help Man Utd keep pace with rivals

New sponsorship and broadcast deals are expected to drive record revenues for English soccer champions Manchester United in 2013-14 and enable them to keep pace with European rivals including Real Madrid and Barcelona.

United, controlled by the American Glazer family, forecast revenues would rise to between £420m and £430m (€502m-€514m) in the year to next June. That was based on the team finishing at least third in the English Premier League and reaching the quarter-finals of Europe’s Champions League and domestic cups.

United were already Britain’s richest soccer club and will benefit from enhanced Premier League TV rights deals that began last month and new club sponsorship deals including a particularly lucrative one with General Motors.

Madrid are the only soccer club to have so far broken the €500m-revenue barrier, but their Spanish rivals Barcelona expect to do so this season.

United were listed on the New York Stock Exchange last year, a long way from their home in northern England. The stock has risen from its flotation price of $14 to trade at over $17, valuing the club at around $2.8bn (€2.08bn.)

In a separate statement, United signalled they may seek to raise up to $400m through fresh sales of shares although there was no time frame set for any fundraising.

Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward said the club had met its targets since its flotation last year, helped by the team winning England’s top soccer division for a record 20th time before manager Alex Ferguson retired.

David Moyes had the tough task of succeeding Ferguson, the most successful manager in English soccer.

Woodward and Moyes have already faced criticism after Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini was the club’s sole high-profile recruit during the recent transfer window.