Manchester United 's financial guru has taken aim at UEFA's split of Champions League revenue despite the Red Devils not even operating at Europe's top table.
Cliff Baty is the finance chief at Old Trafford and has raised issues with the way Europe's governing body are distributing the broadcast revenue, claiming big clubs should get a bigger slice of the pie. That is despite United finishing sixth last term and playing in the forthcoming Europa League.
United, still regarded as one of the world's biggest sides, have been unable to back up their reputation on the pitch over the past decade. They've failed to make it past the last eight in the Champions League for the last ten years - and have spent several seasons playing in Europe's secondary competition.
European Leagues showed data which highlighted that a £2.95bn annual income in the current 2021-24 cycle, sees £2.3bn being handed to the 96 participating clubs with just £143.7m split among 750 non-participating clubs.
Baty aired his concerns, stating: “One thing I would say from our perspective is that (the split) gives us a degree of certainty that helps in terms of sustainability, and all the discussions that are happening around financial sustainability and financial fair play in football. If you take that away, it’s going to increase the volatility and it’s going to be more difficult for us to manage.
“And whilst I appreciate the sentiment of wanting to give more money (to smaller clubs and those outside European competition) the pie is getting bigger – (and) the reason the broadcasters are paying that much money is for the product, frankly at the Champions League level.
Where will Man Utd finish next season? Have your say in the comments!
“If you’re changing the distribution and wanting more money, I think you’ve got to be careful what you’re doing there. We all know where the value is created, let’s not kid ourselves. I think we should put more money down, I totally agree with the sentiment, but the value is created at the top. So if you start changing that, and making it more difficult for the bigger clubs to perform, it’s hard.”
Earlier this year it emerged that United's net debt had gone up by December 31 with a notable proportion of the debt increase resulting in a fall in broadcasting revenues. £22.3m (20.5%) less was earned in the last quarter than in the equivalent period of 2020-21 – because four fewer games were played.
