Cunha signed but how much more money can Man Utd spend on transfers this summer?

Robin Bairner

• 13 Jun 2025 08:26 BST
• 4 min read

Analysis

Manchester United face a big summer of transfers, but how much money does the Old Trafford club have to spend amid speculation of financial headaches?

Man Utd are one of the clubs that are believed to be flirting with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSG), yet Ruben Amorim’s side have gone early in the market by signing Matheus Cunha from Wolves after triggering his €73m (£62.5m) release fee.

Is this the start of a big summer spend or United getting an early piece of business over the line with little more to come?

Current ETV

Matheus Cunha

AM, F (C)

Wolverhampton

Matheus Cunha

AM, F (C)

Wolverhampton

€61M

ETV Range

€54.9M - €67M

View full profile

When Amorim spoke in February, he hinted it was the latter.

“It is simple. To do something, we need to sell players,” he said.

After United splashed out on Cunha, who becomes the club’s eighth most expensive signing ever, that clearly was not the case.

A brighter outlook than forecast

Indeed, the picture for the Red Devils looks far better than anticipated, although it’s difficult to pin down exactly how much money they have to spend.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire detailed the club’s position to Sky Sports News.

“When a club signs a player, the cost is spread over the life of the contract. So with Matheus Cunha, it’s £1m a month – it’s not £60m that’s going out on the PSR calculation,” he said.

“We need to remember that this is Manchester United, so sponsors still want to be associated with them, fans will still flock to Old Trafford, so I think they will be able to anticipating a better season Premier League next year.

“The third main issue is that the main focus has been on the accounts of Manchester United Plc, which is registered in New York. There we saw a loss of £131m last year. But that’s not the company that’s used for PSR purposes. Man Utd look like they’ve been using Red Football and there the losses are only £36m, so they’re £100m better off for PSR purposes on the back of that.”

Can Man Utd still attract superstars?

The Red Devils are still confident that they can make serious headway in the transfer market.

Writing in The Athletic, Andy Mitten says: “I met CEO Omar Berrada, last week at Old Trafford and asked him if it was difficult to attract new signings, given the perception of United as a club in decline and not having Champions League football to offer,” he writes.

“He shook his head, adding that he was interested in recruiting players who want to join United because they believe in the club, not whether they were in Europe’s elite competition. He said that wasn’t difficult and if any didn’t want to come because the team aren’t in the Champions League, United probably don’t want them anyway.”

This is echoed by Maguire, who believes that high-profile signings can be made this summer.

“Man Utd is still a destination club as far as many players are concerned. They want to play at Old Trafford because it’s an iconic stadium, so that can offset some of the financial issues,” he says.

Man Utd’s transfer market is, therefore, not without its challenges, but these problems are not nearly as significant as they once seemed.