Overview
Manchester United plc is a professional football club and sports business based in Manchester, England, with its home ground at Old Trafford. Founded in 1878 as Newton Heath, it operates professional teams and generates revenue through commercial activities—including sponsorship, merchandising and product licensing—as well as broadcasting and matchday operations.[1][2][3][4][5]
The club has a worldwide fan community and international commercial and broadcasting reach.[6][7] Its stated vision is to be “the best football club in the world.” [8] For the year ended 30 June 2026, Manchester United reported revenue of £677.649 million and 805 employees.[9][10] [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][8]
Products & services
Manchester United sells branded sports apparel, training and leisure wear, and licensed merchandise through retail locations, e-commerce and wholesale partners. Its official store lists 2026/27 Home and Home Authentic jerseys: the Home Jersey is described as quick-drying, slim-fitting and made with adidas Climacool technology and 100% recycled polyester; the Authentic version adds body-mapped knit zones, Climacool+ and a heat-applied crest.[11][12][13] The club’s adidas technical-sponsorship and dual-branded licensing agreement is in place through 30 June 2035.[14]
MUTV is the club’s global television service, distributed through television partners and direct-to-consumer subscriptions in more than 200 markets. Its programming includes live selected first-team and Academy matches, highlights, club news, interviews, press conferences and original behind-the-scenes content.[15][16] The club’s website and mobile app provide news and video, while the app’s Match Centre offers team information, line-ups, live statistics, text updates and radio commentary.[17][4][18]
Matchday offerings include general-admission tickets, multi-seat facilities, executive club seating, luxury boxes and hospitality suites, alongside catering, parking, programmes, museum access and stadium events. Old Trafford has approximately 74,500 seats, including accessible platforms, as well as around 10,000 executive club seats, more than 120 luxury boxes and 14 suites.[19][20][21][22][23] [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][4][18][19][20][21][22][23][12][13][18]
Geographic presence
Manchester United plc is based at Old Trafford in Manchester, United Kingdom, where its stadium has been the club’s home since 1910 and has a stated capacity of 74,500. Its principal executive office is also at Old Trafford. Other listed facilities include the Carrington training ground in Trafford and training facilities at Littleton Road and The Cliff in Salford; the company also lists office space in London and leased office space in Maryland, United States.[24][25][26]
The company describes domestic and European matchday activity, global distribution of broadcasting rights and MUTV, and promotional matches and tours in Asia, the United States and Scandinavia. Its FY2026 filing reports a single operating segment and does not provide revenue by country or region.[27][3][7]
For FY2026, average monthly employee headcount was 808: 798 in the UK, 3 in Hong Kong, none in the US and 7 in the Rest of World—approximately 98.8%, 0.4%, 0% and 0.9%, respectively, of the reported total. Percentages are calculated from the disclosed counts.[28] [24][25][26][27][3][7][28]
Business segments
For FY2026, ended 30 June 2026, Manchester United plc reported one operating segment: operating professional football teams. The company separately presents revenue by three principal sectors—Commercial, Broadcasting and Matchday—which are revenue categories rather than reportable operating segments. [Commercial revenue and activities are further divided between sponsorship and retail/licensing.] [27][1][2]
Company history
Founded in 1878 as Newton Heath L&YR Football Club, the club entered England’s First Division in 1892/93 and adopted the name Manchester United in 1902. It won its first league title in 1908 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910. The stadium was heavily damaged during the Second World War and reopened in 1949.[5] United won the FA Cup in 1948; after eight first-team players died in the 1958 Munich air disaster, the team rebuilt under manager Matt Busby and won the 1968 European Cup, becoming the first English club to do so.[29][30]
Sir Alex Ferguson became manager in 1986, beginning an era that included 13 Premier League titles and the club’s 1999 Treble of league, FA Cup and European Cup.[31][32] The club floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, was delisted in 2005 following Malcolm Glazer’s acquisition, and held an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.[33][34][35] United won its 20th English league title in 2013.[36] It formed its first professional women’s team in 2018; the side gained promotion to the Women’s Super League in 2019 and won the Women’s FA Cup in 2024.[37][38] In February 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority investment was completed, with INEOS taking responsibility for football operations.[39] [5][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][32][33][34][35][36][39]
Sources
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