Manchester United
Compliance · 2026/27 spending-room estimate
Premier League squad-cost rules
Below Green2026/27 · the live rule for squad-buildingSquad cost combines player and head-coach wages (the League's definition - estimated as a share of the club's all-staff accounts wage bill and never below the per-player salaries on the Squad tab), annual transfer-fee costs and estimated agent, signing, loan and bonus costs, compared with football income to give the squad-cost ratio estimate. The League's 85% Green and 115% Red Thresholds apply to every club.
Green 85% · Red 115%
How this is calculated
squad cost £488m / football income £860m x 100 = 56.7%The share of football income spent on the squad: player and head-coach wages, annual transfer-fee cost and associated costs.
- Wages£239m · 28%
- Annual transfer-fee cost£227m · 26%
- Agent, signing, loan and bonus costs£22m · 3%
At 57%, the club is 28.3 points under the Green Threshold and 58.3 points under the Red Threshold. Each £10m of annual squad cost is worth about 1.2 points of ratio at this income.
The wage line is 75% of the all-staff bill in the filed accounts, grown forward. The League's own figure uses club submissions PSRwatch cannot see.
Levy / allowance line. A fine, not points.
How this is calculated
football income £860m x 85% = £731m Green capacity
£731m - squad cost £488m = £243mRoom before the 85% Green Threshold, above which a financial levy applies to the overspend and the club's allowance starts to erode. A fine, not a points deduction.
- Green Threshold capacity (85% of income)£731m · 100%
- Squad cost used£488m · 67%
- Room left£243m · 33%
Spread over five-year contracts before wages, £243m of annual room translates to roughly £1216m of transfer fees. Wages, agent costs and bonuses all come out of the same room.
The Green Threshold is the levy line. Crossing it costs money and allowance, not points; points risk begins at the Red Threshold.
Sporting-sanction line. 6 points plus 1 per £6.5m over.
How this is calculated
football income £860m x 115% = £989m Red capacity
£989m - squad cost £488m = £501mHow much annual squad cost the club could add before the 115% Red Threshold, where sporting sanctions (points) start.
- Red Threshold capacity (115% of income)£989m · 100%
- Squad cost used£488m · 49%
- Room left£501m · 51%
£501m of room is 58% of football income. Every £10m of extra annual squad cost moves the ratio by about 1.2 points; the Red Threshold is 58.3 points away.
A PSRwatch estimate of the League's test on forecast income, not the League's own calculation. Room is annual cost, not a transfer budget: a fee is spread over the contract and wages count in full.
Inside Green this season, so the allowance stays at 30% next season (it recovers 10 points a season after a breach, up to 30).
The League's squad-cost test counts player and head-coach pay only. Filed accounts disclose a single all-staff figure, so PSRwatch takes 75% of the all-staff bill; assistant coaches, medical, commercial and administrative staff are outside the test.
From the club's filed accounts, grown forward: total staff costs including non-playing staff, bonuses and employer NI. Reconciliation only - not added to squad cost.
Sum of the per-player wage rows shown lower down this page: gross fixed salaries from public sources plus bounded estimates. The gap to the player-and-head-coach figure above is bonuses, image rights, employer NI and the head coach; the figure above never falls below this sum.
The League's lines are the same for every club: 85% Green, and a Red Threshold of 85% plus the club's allowance (30% this season). The allowance only shrinks after a breach of 85% in a season's accounts, and recovers by 10 points a season once the club is back inside.
As a club in the Champions League, this club must also meet UEFA's own 70% squad-cost rule. UEFA assesses it separately, on a calendar-year basis and its own definitions, and enforces it with fines and registration limits rather than League points. It does not change the League lines above.
How the loop works: a breach of 85% in a season's Accounts Confirmation Test cuts the next season's allowance by the size of the breach; a compliant season restores 10 points, up to 30. Spending between Green and Red attracts a financial levy on the overspend; crossing Red brings a fixed 6-point deduction plus 1 point per £6.5m beyond it.
UEFA squad-cost rule
Inside thresholdClubs in a UEFA competition must also meet UEFA's own 70% squad-cost rule. UEFA assesses it separately, on a calendar-year basis and its own revenue definitions, and enforces it with fines and registration limits rather than League points. This check uses PSRwatch's League-basis figures, so it is indicative only.
70% limit, assessed by UEFA on a calendar-year basis.
Enforced with fines and registration limits, not League points.
How this is calculated
football income £860m x 70% = £602m UEFA capacity
- squad cost £488m = £114mUEFA's own 70% squad-cost rule, which applies to the club because it is in a UEFA competition this season.
- UEFA capacity (70% of income)£602m · 100%
- Squad cost used£488m · 81%
57% against a 70% limit: 13.3 points of UEFA room, which is tighter than the League's 85% line by 15 points.
Indicative only. UEFA assesses on a calendar-year basis with its own definitions and enforces with fines and registration limits, not League points. This check uses PSRwatch's League-basis figures.
Old PSR result
Manchester United are also measured against the older Profitability & Sustainability rules for the 2023/24–2025/26 closeout window. This is not the live Premier League rule for 2026/27 squad-building.
PSRwatch uses £0m of verified eligible owner funding in this window (owner loans excluded), lifting the loss allowance above the £15m baseline. Old PSR is the older three-year loss framework; it is no longer the live rule for 2026/27 squad-building. This is a public-data model, not an official league finding.
Before undisclosed / private adjustments.
How this is calculated
allowance £105m (base £15m + verified equity £0m) + 3-year adjusted result £291m = £396mThe older three-year loss test for 2023/24 to 2025/26: permitted losses less the adjusted losses actually made.
- Baseline allowance£15m
- Verified owner equity applied£0m
- 3-year adjusted result£291m
The window is profitable on public data (£291m adjusted), so the allowance is not the constraint.
A public-data model before undisclosed and private adjustments; not an official finding. Old PSR is retained as a closeout layer and is not the live rule for 2026/27 squad-building.
2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26
View detailed calculation
GBP 5m per known PL/EFL season.
Total verified equity in the window - can exceed the amount the cap lets the model apply.
Capped at £90m above the baseline.
Room on the baseline allowance only.
Baseline + verified owner equity. Unavailable without verified funding.
If fully owner-funded to £105m - a labelled scenario, never the headline without verified funding.
League mix drives PL/EFL loss cap.
Owner funding note: Owner funding can affect financial resilience and, under the old PSR framework, support permitted losses. It does not automatically create new squad-cost room under the revenue-linked SCR model. Old PSR allows higher losses only where secure funding/equity is evidenced; owner and shareholder loans are excluded unless validly converted to eligible equity. Before undisclosed/private adjustments.
The rule basis, thresholds and sources for each framework are set out on the methodology page. Final regulatory decisions sit with the leagues, not PSRwatch.