According to sources at Football Insider, Everton and Nottingham Forest may be preparing to voice their discontent with Premier League officials if it is confirmed that Manchester United has been granted special allowances. It has been reported that United received a substantial £40million Covid allowance in the 2021/2022 season, while other clubs only received around £1million each.
Despite playing in front of fans throughout the season, sources find it surprising that Manchester United was given such a large Covid allowance. United recently reported a net loss of £71.4million for the first three months of 2024, a significant increase from the £5.6million loss in the same period the year before. This included costs related to Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchasing a stake at the club in February.
Football Insider revealed that Manchester United could have failed PSR requirements for last season if they had not been allowed to include these exceptional costs. Any potential violations of the PSR rules could result in point deductions for Premier League clubs, as was seen with Everton and Forest last season.
The PSR rules stipulate that top-flight clubs can lose up to £105million over a rolling three-year period. Sources suggest that the situation with Manchester United is likely to stir controversy among club officials, with clubs like Aston Villa and Newcastle United, who have sold players to comply with PSR regulations, also likely to express their displeasure.
Nottingham Forest supporters have already expressed their dissatisfaction with Manchester United’s Covid allowance, with one fan even going as far as suggesting corruption within the Premier League. However, finance expert Kieran Maguire suggests that there is no evidence of corruption on the part of the governing body, as the reasons for United’s allowance have been explained by senior club sources. They claim that the £40million was needed due to the cancellation of their summer tour, bad debts from commercial partners, failure to meet sponsorship obligations, and rebates from broadcasters like the Premier League and UEFA.
