Sheffield United Finances 2022/23

What Time Is Love?

As Sheffield United get ready for the new season, there remains a sense of uncertainty about the club’s ownership.

Potential Takeover

Talks have been slowly progressing with an American consortium, reportedly led by Tom Page of venture capital firm Vertex Albion, but a deal has not yet been concluded.

The hope was that the new owners would be on board before the end of this summer’s transfer window, especially after it was reported that plans had been submitted to the EFL for the owners and directors’ test, but, as of yet, there has been no white smoke confirming that the club has changed hands.

In the last few days, there have been reports that John Textor, the American billionaire, is looking to sell his shareholding in Crystal Palace and invest in another English football club, which led to Blades fans speculating that he might enter the “race” to buy United. However, that rumour would appear to be unfounded at this stage.

The Prince

Sheffield United’s current owner is Prince Abdullah, who has been involved with the club for more than a decade and became sole owner in September 2019 after the High Court ruled that Kevin McCabe had to sell his 50% share to the Prince. This also triggered an agreement whereby the club had to purchase the stadium, training facility, gym, hotel and offices.

The Prince has clearly intended to sell the club for a while, but has so far failed to get a deal across the line, even when the Blades were a more attractive proposition in the Premier League.

Other Suitors

However, it’s fair to say that the club probably dodged a bullet with two of the potential investors where a deal did not materialise.

Nigerian tycoon Dozy Mmobuosi was involved in lengthy discussions, actually contributing some funding at one stage, but has since been accused of fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission with his company Tingo suspected of shady business practices and fake financial statements.

Another prospective buyer that was involved in talks to purchase the club was American businessman Henry Mauriss, who has actually been jailed for wire fraud.

Financial Issues

The ambiguity around Sheffield United’s ownership situation has adversely impacted the club’s finances, leading to some cash flow problems.

As a result, the EFL placed United under a transfer embargo in January 2023, due to unpaid instalments on transfer fees (Rhian Brewster from Liverpool and Anel Ahmedhodzic from Malmö), which was only lifted a couple of months later, long after the January transfer window had been completed.

There was even speculation that United were about to enter administration, though this was firmly rebutted by chief executive Stephen Bettis, “There is not even a threat. That’s complete and utter bullshit.”

That said, Bettis did concede that the club had been late in paying some supplier invoices, “Let’s be brutally honest. We are stretching every single pound that we have got.”

This has now come back to bite the club on the bum, as the EFL ruled in April that United would be deducted two points after they were late in a number of payments to other clubs.

This points deduction was to take effect at the start of the next season that the club was within the EFL’s jurisdiction.

2023/24 Season

This didn’t take long to come to pass, as United were immediately relegated back to the Championship after a dismal performance in last season’s Premier League. Not only did the Blades finish rock bottom in the table, but they accumulated the sum total of 16 points with just three victories, while setting a new record for goals conceded of 104.

Sale of Top Players

It did not help that the club sold probably their best two players in the summer before the Premier League campaign, as Senegal international Iliman Ndiaye joined Marseille, while midfielder Sander Berge moved to Burnley.