Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward underlined Manchester United’s hunger for silverware after the club announced record-breaking revenues and an eye-watering wage bill pushing £300million.

Jose Mourinho’s men are seventh in the Premier League after a topsy-turvy start to the campaign – but the club continue to achieve off-field results.

United have been top of the Deloitte Football Money League for two successive years and on Tuesday announced record revenues in excess of half a billion pounds for the third consecutive financial year.

Burnley v Manchester United – Premier League – Turf Moor
Ed Woodward says Manchester United remain hungry for silverware after the club announced an eye-watering wage bill pushing £300million (Martin Rickett/PA)

The club brought in £590m in the year ending 30 June 2018 – a rise of just 1.5 per cent on the previous year – but the expectation is for revenue to rise to between £615m and £630m over the coming financial year.

Executive vice-chairman Woodward believes that will help aid United’s quest for trophies, with the huge wage bill of £295.9m surely going to increase as a result.

“Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to add to Manchester United’s 66 and Jose’s 25 trophies,” Woodward said. “That is what our passionate fans and our history demands.

Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers – Premier League – Old Trafford
Alexis Sanchez’s arrival impacted on Manchester United’s wage bill (Martin Rickett/PA)

“We are committed to our philosophy of blending top academy graduates with world class players and are proud that, once again, last season we had more academy graduate minutes on the pitch than any other Premier League club.

“Our increased revenue expectation for the year demonstrates our continued strong long-term financial performance which underpins everything we do and allows us to compete for top talent in an increasingly competitive transfer market.”

United’s revenue is substantially higher than the £500.5m posted by rivals Manchester City, although they also pay significantly more in wages than the Premier League winners’ £259.6m.

Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers – Premier League – Old Trafford
Ed Woodward says the club will continue to support Jose Mourinho financially (Martin Rickett/PA)

The annual accounts reveal that the Old Trafford giants paid employees £295.9m in fiscal 2018 – a hike of £32.4million over the prior year.

United say the increase is “primarily due to player salary uplifts related to participation in the UEFA Champions League” – but Alexis Sanchez’s January arrival will also have made an impact.

United saw operating profits drop by 45.4 per cent to £44.1m. That was largely due to the United States’ federal corporate income tax rate being reduced from 35 per cent to 21 per cent.

Net debt rose 19.1 per cent to £253.7m, which the club say is predominantly down to exchange rate fluctuations.

United achieved earnings of £177.1m before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – down from a record £199.8m in 2017.