Debt ridden Manchester United under 'zero' pressure to sell Wayne Rooney

Manchester United CEO David Gill has said that the club is under no pressure to sell ace striker Rooney, despite its record £83.6 million loss.

United's annual turnover rose to £286.4 million, but they suffered the loss as a result of owners Glazers refinancing the way they service their debt.

United had to pay £67 million in one-off finance charges through the implementation of the bond issue to ease the debt burden on the Glazers, as well as £40 million in interest payments, the Mirror reports.

Gill assured United fans that Rooney, valued at £70 million, would not be needed to be sacrificed to address the club's debts.
 
"We are not a club that needs to sell. We have money in the bank so there is zero pressure on that, no pressure at all to sell any star player whether it is Wayne Rooney or X, Y or Z. I can categorically say that," Gill said.

"There was no desire at all from anyone at the club to sell Cristiano Ronaldo. He wanted to go and as a result we managed to extract a world record fee.

"The philosophy is to retain and attract the best players. We have £165 million in the bank but in some ways we would prefer to have £80 million in the bank and Ronaldo on the pitch," he added.

United loss, revealed in the club's annual financial results, is in stark contrast to their profit of £48 million the year before, when their figures were boosted by the sale of Ronaldo.