Woodward hints at transfer plans

English Premier League soccer club Manchester United showed its commercial strength when it raised its core earnings expectations for the year as it posted a 26.6 percent rise in quarterly revenue.

Broadcast revenue rose 31.3% to £37.3m and sponsorship revenue rose by £1.6m, but matchday income was down 1.6%.

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has defended the club’s £250million transfer spend under Louis van Gaal. “There’s a bit more pressure perhaps on some of the bigger clubs to bring in players that are going to be hitting the ground running and top players, verging on world class, nearly immediately”.

Manchester United expect to make over £500 million ($719.5 million, 635.2 million euros) in the 2016 financial year, the club announced on Thursday, despite continued underperformance on the pitch.

It is understood there have been no decisions and no deals yet and United are relaxed about their managerial situation – especially on the back of another set of strong financial figures.

United may have earned a creditable 1-1 draw at Chelsea last weekend, but they are now six points off the Champions League qualification places with 13 games to go in the Barclays Premier League season.

“[League leaders] Leicester is a fantastic reference point for everyone this year”.

“Our general admission prices have been frozen for the past five years and we’ve kept them frozen into next year as well”, he said, adding that talks were ongoing with the Premier League regarding helping away fans buy cheaper tickets.

United predicted full-year revenue was expected to be between £500m and £510m, which would be a record for a British club.

This suggests that Manchester United could be ready to overhaul the squad for the right price and the Chinese Super League, which broker the local transfer record three times in the most recent transfer window could provide the best option. With an unrivaled global appeal, which it says stretches to 659 million followers, continues to prove lucrative.