There was an unmistakable note of financial caution as Manchester United's chief decision makers addressed investors on Thursday, as the club announced their latest set of financial results.
A record-breaking wage bill and a sharp rise in operating losses were the headline figures, with the net debt also shooting up and another £33million exiting the coffers in dividends in the 12 months to June 2022. Those results end just as United were beginning an unprecedented summer of spending, lavishing around £225million on new players for Erik ten Hag's squad.
That £384million wage bill will benefit from the raft of departures in the summer, but this was a recruitment drive like United have never been on before as well. Football director J ohn Murtough said that kind of window won't be repeated, while chief financial officer Cliff Baty spoke of a return to a "more normalised level of wages" and stressed the importance of Champions League football on revenue.
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Both Baty and chief executive Richard Arnold discussed the current financial climate. Arnold talked of "macroeconomic pressures" and the "inflationary environment", with Baty mentioning the impact it is having on costs such as travel, flights and wages.
The message was clear that the spending spree of this summer is likely to be a one-off. Under the ownership of the Glazers United are preaching a sustainable model, something that is difficult for supporters to swallow when dividends totalling £155million have now been paid in seven years and interest payments under the Glazer ownership now total an eye-watering £886million.
During the question and answer session on the call, Arnold talked about the balance of sustainability and investment and brought into the conversation Financial Fair Play rules, insisting United are determined to abide by them.
“As you look at our activity in this space historically we have to strike a balance between investing in talent needed to perform at the levels expected of Manchester United, with the sustainability in the near and long-term. We believe both of those aims are helped by FFP," he said.
In theory, United should benefit from a strict interpretation of FFP rules, given the revenues they can bring in, but the mismanagement that has allowed that wage bill to spiral would clearly be an issue long-term.
But for United's strategy to truly work they need FFP rules to be enforced. In the Premier League, the rules state that clubs can make a loss, made up by owners, of £105million over three years.
United would be on the edge of that but offsetting expenditure against infrastructure or football development projects can help that and United have invested in their women's team and academy. There is also extra wriggle room as a result of losses incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those methods of avoiding potential breaches could allow clubs to push the envelope. The mammoth transfer window Chelsea have just had should be pushing them close to the edge, but so far no club has fallen foul of the Premier League's rules.
There have been cases for UEFA, but their FFP guidelines are also hanging by a thread. Three weeks ago, they fined eight clubs for failing to meet the break-even requirement for 2021/22 UEFA club competitions.
But Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Juventus, Roma, AC Milan, Marseille, Monaco and Besiktas were fined only an initial €26 million between them, with a further €146million dependant on the club's compliance with respective settlement agreements.
Another 19 clubs, including Manchester City, are being monitored by UEFA, but it does feel like their FFP regime is becoming weaker, rather than stronger.
There's a legitimate argument that financial controls are targeting the wrong owners, when it can punish clubs who invest but doesn't blink an eye at United, with net debt now over £500million.
United are working within the framework of the rules, however, and their desire to follow FFP suggests another transfer window like we've just seen is a long way away. For that strategy to be a success, Arnold and co need the governing bodies to make sure their financial rules have some teeth.
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