Manchester United Borrowed Another £90 Million This Summer

Manchester United spent the summer borrowing money to pay for the players it bought. The club drew £120 million from its revolving credit facility in three tranches, on July 29, July 31 and Aug. 28, then repaid £30 million on Sept. 21, according to a filing with the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 24. Net, that is another £90 million of borrowing.

A revolving credit facility works a lot like a corporate credit card: the club can draw on it when cash runs short and pay it back when money comes in. United leaned on it three separate times in the span of a single month of the transfer window. The filing followed the Sept. 23 release of the club's accounts for the year to June 30.

Total debt now stands at £1.15 billion: £578 million of historic debt, £200 million drawn on the credit facility and £375 million owed in transfer fees. That transfer-fee figure is actually £72 million lower than the £447 million reported a year earlier. The same filing puts summer spending on new players at £191.7 million.

The fees announced for Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba added up to £153 million, and it isn't clear where the rest went; the club was approached for comment. The bigger point is what the numbers say about the club's strategy. The debt remains above £1 billion despite all the cost cutting since Sir Jim Ratcliffe became minority owner in 2024.

That suggests the cuts have been paying for the squad, not paying down what the club owes. United cut costs for two years and still ended the summer drawing on a credit line, because the bill for new players had to land somewhere. It is a pattern that shows up across sports business: risk rarely goes away, it just gets moved somewhere else.

Baseball's national broadcasters have agreed to keep paying through a possible lockout in exchange for a free season later. The Premier League took gambling off the front of the shirt, and the betting money moved to the sleeve and the training kit. And betting itself has moved from licensed sportsbooks to prediction markets, which is why New York is now in court with Polymarket and Kalshi.

In each case, somebody found a way to keep the money flowing. The only real question is who is left holding the obligation when it comes due. In baseball, it would be the local broadcasters, whose deals shrink game by game.

In the Premier League, it is the smaller clubs, who added just £4 million in shirt revenue between them while the Big Six added £46 million. For Manchester United, the answer is the club itself, with £375 million still owed to other clubs for players already on the pitch, and a credit facility it has now leaned on again. That suggests the cuts have been paying for the squad, not paying down what the club owes.

rights deals would run through 2029 if a 2027 lockout cancels at least 60 games per team, The Athletic reported. Rightsholders would still pay for 2027 even with no games, and get 2029 at no extra fee; local deals would be cut pro rata. The labor agreement expires Dec. 1, and a lockout is widely expected.

It isn't known which deals with Fox, TNT Sports, Apple, ESPN, NBC and Netflix carry the clause.

from front-of-shirt deals this season, up 8% from £410 million, according to Ampere Analysis. Eight clubs replaced £67 million of gambling deals with £75 million of new ones, mostly finance, technology and travel brands. The Big Six added £46 million; the rest of the league, £4 million.

Betting spend across Premier League assets fell from £155 million to £63 million, but gambling brands now account for 57% of training-kit spend and 20% of sleeve spend.

principal and front-of-shirt partner across the men's, women's and academy teams, has appointed Banijay-owned Little Dot Studios to activate the deal with original content, creator partnerships, live events, social, PR and paid distribution, all built on the club's reputation for finding undervalued talent. Indeed was already Brentford's training-wear and recruitment partner. A hiring platform on a club known for spotting overlooked players is about as on-brand as sponsorship gets.

for at Least $4.6 Billion New York's attorney general and governor sued Polymarket's US business on Sept. 24, alleging unlicensed gambling in the state, including contracts on Mets games and New York college teams, and that it lets 18-to-20-year-olds trade. A source told Front Office Sports the state is seeking at least $4.6 billion. Polymarket moved the case to federal court and countersued the same day, arguing it is a CFTC-regulated exchange.

New York sued Kalshi in July, seeking at least $36 billion.

Manchester United → Revolving credit facility £90M net £120M drawn in three tranches, £30M repaid Eight Premier League clubs → New shirt sponsors £75M New front-of-shirt deals replacing £67M of gambling deals Indeed → Brentford Undisclosed Front-of-shirt sponsorship, activated by Little Dot Studios New York v. Polymarket $4.6B+ Litigation; damages sought, per a Front Office Sports source

Guinness and the Premier League: A Match Made in Heaven

The partnership won ahead of a shortlist that included DP World's Ryder Cup and ICC work, Toyota's cricket programme and O2's England Rugby campaign. It was also shortlisted for Best Use of Content in the million-euro-plus category. We See You Lily Parr

The mobile network's tribute to Lily Parr beat entries from Guinness, Sky Atlantic, Volvo, and The R&A with Husqvarna. It was also commended for Best Use of Talent and shortlisted for large-scale Sponsorship with a Social Purpose.

Hawks telecasts will air mainly on Atlanta News First, the Gray Media-owned station, starting this season. The station's sports director, Bailie Burmaster, joins as reporter and host alongside Madison Hock, and Bob Rathbun, Dominique Wilkins and Brian Oliver all return. It's another team finding a new local TV home, days after the NHL placed four of its teams on Charter's Spectrum.

The LTA Hands British Tennis's Social Channels to Two Circles The Lawn Tennis Association has handed British tennis's social channels to Two Circles through 2028, covering social strategy, creative production, channel management, insights, paid media and monetisation around the main events of the British tennis calendar. The monetisation piece is the one to watch: the LTA isn't just outsourcing its posting schedule, it's handing an agency the job of turning its social channels into a revenue line.

Risk in sports business rarely goes away; it just gets moved somewhere else. Somebody always finds a way to keep the money flowing, and the real question is who's left holding the obligation when it comes due.