Trump to blame, say Man United

US president ‘responsible’ for the club’s revenue loss

London – Manchester United blamed US President Donald Trump’s corporate tax reforms as the reason the Premier League giants posted a £29-million (about R490-million) second quarter loss to the end of December 2017 despite a boom in broadcast income.

United said an exceptional “accounting write-off of £48.8-million” had been made with the US corporate tax rate to tumble from 35% to 21% following Trump’s substantive enactment of US tax reform in December.

Several large corporations have signalled that the law will result in a shortterm hit on earnings repatriated from overseas and due to revaluation of assets.

United, who retained their place at the top of Deloitte’s Money League ahead of European champions Real Madrid as the richest club in the world, saw broadcast income rise 17.3% to £61.6-million, thanks in large part to the club’s return to the Champions League.

Total revenue for the quarter was up nearly 4% from last year to £163.9-million.

Another wave of TV cash could be around the corner with bids for a new three-year cycle for Premier League TV rights in the UK from 2019-2022 to be presented today.

“The first round of domestic bids is due in tomorrow. Looking at past history we would expect the entire process will conclude in a relatively short period of time – within a couple of weeks,” United’s chief executive Ed Woodward told investors via a conference call yesterday.

United didn’t splash out on transfer fees, but did acquire Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in a swap deal. –