Football club Manchester United posted strong results on Thursday, boosted by a 17pc revenue rise after a US pre-season tour.

The club recorded an income of £141 million for the three months to the end of September, and said it year-end revenues were on track for between £575 million and £585 million. Last year annual earnings totalled £581 million.

Operating profit for the first quarter stood at £15.1 million, up on £6.2 million for the same period in 2016, as the team played to a cumulative stadium audience of 250,000 across the US in a pre-season tour.

Over the period the team acquired three new players, Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, with employee benefit expenses increasing by £7.6 million over the quarter to £69.9 million. This was due to player salary uplifts as the participation in the UEFA Champions League.

Ed Woodward, Executive Vice Chairman, commented:

“We are just over a quarter of the way through what promises to be another exciting season. In the Champions League we have won all four games played to-date; we are through to the Quarter Final of the Carabao Cup; and are looking forward to the next few months as the number of matches ramps up.”