Sheffield United post £15m losses as latest accounts highlight Premier League importance

The importance of Premier League football to Sheffield United has been laid bare once again as the Blades published their latest accounts, for the period ending June 30, 2022. The period covers the Blades’ first year back in the Championship after relegation but also the return of fans to stadia after the Covid-19 pandemic, with United losing out in the play-off semi-finals to Nottingham Forest on penalties.

In the period in question United posted losses of £15.2m, with turnover reducing from £115m from the previous year to £67m - a drop of almost £50m that highlights once again the importance of being in the Premier League. Broadcast revenues were still high for Championship football at just over £50m, thanks to their first year of Premier League parachute payments, but were half of the £101m received in the previous accounting period.

United’s matchday income rose to just over £7m - from just under £58,000 during the Covid-19 season when United were only able to welcome a few thousand fans to Bramall Lane for one game - but sponsorship fell by almost two thirds, from almost £10m in the Premier League to £3.65m in the Championship. There is no separate breakdown of the costs involved of sacking Slavisa Jokanovic and his coaching staff early in the season, replacing the Serb with U23s boss and former interim manager Paul Heckingbottom - to great effect.

To offset the drop in income, salaries also dramatically reduced, by £56m to £42m - chiefly because of relegation release clauses included in players’ contracts after relegation. Player sales - including the sale of Aaron Ramsdale to Arsenal - generated £25m and United’s transfer spend, for the period in question, was listed in the accounts as £574,000.

Anel Ahmedhodzic’s signing, from Malmo last summer, will be included in the next set of accounts, which are due next year. The 2021/22 accounts also show the £15m loss being offset by gains of just over £10m on the “re-evaluation of tangible fixed assets” - basically the value of the club’s land and buildings, including Bramall Lane and Shirecliffe - to leave an overall loss just shy of £5.25m for the financial year.