Manchester United continue business success

Manchester United may have been toppled as Premiership champions but the club is still expected to report a 9% rise in half-year turnover to £89.3m (€130m) and a 14% increase in underlying earnings to £36.5m (€53m) on Tuesday.

Broker Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein is forecasting a 37% fall in interim pre-tax profits, although this is due to the one-off profit on the sale of Jaap Stam and Andrew Cole a year earlier.

Turnover has been boosted by a lucrative merchandising tie-up with Nike and higher gate receipts, but analysts will be interested to see if the club can keep player wages at less than 50% of turnover.