Manchester United 'Focused' on Rebuilding After Posting Record £627.1M Revenue

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said the club are "focused" on "rebuilding" after announcing a record revenue of £627.1 million on Tuesday. 

Per the Mirror's David McDonnell, Woodward said in a statement:

"We remain focused on our plan of rebuilding the team and continuing to strengthen our youth system, in line with the philosophy of the club and the manager.

"This is reflected in the recent addition of three exciting first-team players, key player contract extensions and the talent we have coming through our academy.

"Everyone at Manchester United is committed to delivering on our primary objective of winning trophies."

According to McDonnell, the revenue is a record not just for the club but in world football.

Per the Press Association's Simon Peach, United's revenue has resulted in a £50 million operating profit.

However, as a result of playing in the UEFA Europa League this season rather than the UEFA Champions League, their revenues are projected to drop by between £47 million and £67 million in the next financial year.

Football writer Chris Winterburn shared further comments from Woodward, in which he expressed his belief that United are on the right track despite not having a director of football:

Aside from Real Madrid, the majority of elite clubs in Europe, including Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Liverpool, have sporting directors or directors of football to aid in recruitment and the building of a philosophy alongside the manager.

United's recruitment has been haphazard under Woodward, as this summer demonstrated.

Although promising acquisitions were made in Daniel James, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the club failed to bring in a single midfielder despite the departures of Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini this year.

Bleacher Report's Rob Blanchette questioned the club not bringing in another forward after further first-team exits:

The Red Devils have won just two of their opening six Premier League matches and scored only four goals in their last five.

Broadcaster Jake Humphrey spoke out at the ownership of the club after their 2-0 defeat to West Ham United on Sunday:

Given the club's considerable resources, it's clear they should be doing much better on the pitch.

As their failure to qualify for the Champions League showed, their lack of success will also have an impact on their revenue in turn. If they don't begin to channel their resources better, they'll soon find themselves even further behind their rivals.