United hit by drop in TV cash

MALCOLM GLAZER learned last night that Manchester United have slumped to fourth in the table of earnings from TV cash and prize money by Premier League clubs this season.

Chelsea (£50.8m), Arsenal (£48.7m) and Liverpool (£47.4m) all earned more than United (£44.4m), who have paid the price for a poor season in the Champions League and finishing third in the Premiership for the second year running.

American tycoon Glazer, who has now assumed full control of United, will be concerned to see that the club earned £6m less than Chelsea and perhaps more importantly almost £13m less (25% down) than in the 2003/2004 season.

United will still outperform their rivals in terms of income from gate receipts, other matchday income and merchandise, but it is the first time since the launch of the Premiership that the club has not finished in the top two in the TV and prize money earnings league.

Finance experts believe the news will concern Glazer. Vinay Bedi, football analyst with stockbrokers Brewin Dolphin, said: “At this particular moment, every million pounds will be important to Malclom Glazer because of the pressures of the debt he has taken on.

“Even in the club’s previous guise as a quoted company, a level of differential of £6million with their rivals is significant. It is equivalent to almost a third of their last annual profits.

“This is high-margin stuff - income from TV and prize money from the Premier League and Champions League is not related to any significant cost, so it’s the sort of revenue a company particularly wants.”

Bedi said Glazer would now be faced with the dilemma of whether to invest more in the team in the hoping of achieving more success.

He added: “Every owner’s dream is to improve performance by spending money, but it doesn’t always work - and the history of football is littered with examples of when it hasn’t.”

Ten of the 20 Premier League clubs experienced a fall compared to 2003/04 - mainly due to the current Sky TV deal being of slightly less value than the previous one.

Some clubs though, such as Bolton and Middlesbrough, have benefited by the extra number of live games this season making the distribution of TV cash less weighted towards the top sides.

Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and United all earned at least £10million from the Champions League, emphasising once again that qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition is a must for any side trying to compete at the top of English football.

Liverpool have cashed in by reaching the final - the Reds will earn more than £20m if they beat ACMilan and £18.3m even if they are defeated.

Arsenal earned £15.02m in Europe, benefiting principally fromhaving won the Premiership title last season.