Sports: Man United revenue falls...

English soccer giants Manchester United have said that their revenue fell by 9.9 per cent to UK£88.7 million (US$138.5 million) for the three months to the end of September.

The club lost out on payments from Nike after failing to qualify for the Uefa Champions League.

Ed Woodward, executive vice chairman of Manchester United, said the 2014/15 financial results would reflect “absence from the Champions League”.

But he said the club had “signed the largest kit sponsorship deal in the history of sport in the first quarter and, with that concluded, we are excited to focus our efforts on the meaningful growth opportunities in sponsorship, digital media and retail and merchandising.”

The club’s kit deal with Adidas, which begins at the start of the 2015/16 season, is worth UK£750 million (US$1.171 billion) over ten years whilst the club also secured five additional sponsorship deals in the quarter.

However, revenues from both broadcasting and match days fell as the team missed out on Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in two decades.