Manchester United's wage bill increases by 23% to £88.5 million in the last quarter after Cristiano Ronaldo's return: Reports

Manchester United released their financial quarterly report on Wednesday. Being a public trading company, United are required to release their quarterly statements.

The new numbers have a mix of good and bad results in them. The biggest feature is the significant rise in the wage bill, otherwise put as "employee benefit expenses."

Manchester United loaned out a few young players and sold Daniel James this summer. Meanwhile, the Red Devils bought Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.

It has seen Manchester United's wage bill rise by an astronomical 23%. The Premier League giants had a salary cap of £71.1 million last season. It has now touched the £88.5m mark.

The official numbers from other top clubs in the Premier League are unknown, since they are not publicly traded companies. However, it can be estimated that Manchester United do have one of the highest wage caps in England this season.

Some numbers make good reading for Manchester United

Manchester United seem to be making a fine recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Their revenue for the quarter has gone up from £109m to £126.5m. It is a 16.1% rise, again a significant number - especially given that the club won their last trophy in 2017.

The commercial revenue has also risen by a sharp 7.9% to £64.4m. One man to possibly thank for this largely is Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the rise is expected to reflect more accurately in the next quarter.

The reason behind that is Ronaldo joined Manchester United at the flag end of August. It means only the month of September saw the commercial benefits of having a world renowned superstar playing for the Old Trafford outfit.

Ed Woodward promises to make Manchester United successful on the pitch as well

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward believes Manchester United's financial success off the pitch will be complimented with victory on it as well. Addressing the financial reports, he said:

“While these financial results today demonstrate our resilience through the pandemic, our top priority is success on the pitch. The manager, players and everyone at the club are determined to achieve that objective."

United are back in action in the Premier League this weekend. They will take a trip to Watford knowing nothing but a win would put their manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in danger of getting the sack.