Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe did not give permission for his words to be used in a promotional video posted by British political party Reform UK. INEOS, the petrochemical firm which Ratcliffe controls, confirmed to The Athletic that the British billionaire, 73, had no knowledge of the video and did not give permission for his words to be used in it. The company did not confirm whether they had asked Reform to take down the video. More from @reallycerys and @nnamdionye ⬇️ bit.ly/4yjz963

From the moment Michael Carrick was appointed interim head coach of Manchester United in January, the comparisons with one of his predecessors were inevitable. But is it fair to view Carrick as ‘Solskjaer 2.0’, and do parallels between the two mean their United managerial journeys will end the same way? 📝 @reallycerys & @Conor0Neill_ nyti.ms/4rsxqbS

🔴 Manchester United’s wage bill dropped to £302m last season — the club’s lowest spending on salaries in six years 🔴 Generated a record £677.6m in revenue, driven largely by a third-place Premier League finish 🔴 United reported a bottom-line loss of £43m marking the seventh consecutive year of losses that now total nearly £450m since 2019 🔴 Total financial debt climbed to £689m by the end of June, representing a £52m increase over the previous year 🔴 Wages-to-revenue ratio fell to 44.6 percent, the lowest proportion of income spent on player costs in 18 years 🔴 United invested £63.5m to acquire 25 acres of land near Old Trafford, a plot intended to house a future 100,000-seat stadium 🔴 Cash on hand has dwindled to £67.2m a 13-year low that sits far below the £300m the club held before the pandemic 🔴 Debt restructuring has increased costs, with a new $550m loan carrying a 5.36 percent interest rate, up from the previous 3.79 percent, though short-term borrowings have reduced 🔴 AC Milan’s decision to hire former United manager Ruben Amorim just five months after his sacking saved the club £8.5m in severance payments @CWeatherspoon_ analyses Manchester United's 2025-26 finances. Free to read: bit.ly/4xBMEwF

Manchester United this season. Good, bad or unlucky? As with most teams, it's a bit of each but with Michael Carrick's team having picked up only five points from their opening five games, there are three key issues he needs to fix: 🔴 Back post defending and giving opponents high-quality chances 🔴 Deciding what sort of out-of possession approach to take 🔴 And taking too many-low value shots, Bruno Fernandes included @LiamTharmeCoach and @Anantaajith analyse the situation at Old Trafford — free to read ⬇️ 🔗 nyti.ms/4xJYbtL

It would have been unbelievable had it not been horribly predictable. When are Manchester United safe in a game? Not when they have a man advantage for over an hour against Manchester City, not when they are leading 2-1 in the 88th minute against Everton — and not when they are leading Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 after 10 minutes at home. A surrender of this magnitude at Old Trafford is almost unprecedented for Manchester United, but the problems that Brighton exploited have been on show throughout the start to this season. 📝 @reallycerys 🔗 bit.ly/3T2J2FT