(CNN) -- Manchester United's financial state was thrown into stark relief on Thursday after the English club's American owners revealed a record loss of $137 million despite making an unprecedented operating profit of $160 million.
The disparity of figures is largely caused by interest payments of $67 million and a one-off cost of $107 million relating to the Premier League outfit's bond scheme, launched in January to help restructure the debts accrued by the Glazer family in purchasing the 18-time English champions in 2005.
The club produced a record turnover of $455 million for the year ended June 2010, more than double that of local rivals Manchester City, but suffered a big swing from last year's profit of $77 million -- which was largely due to the world-record $130 million sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.
However, United chief executive David Gill insisted that the Glazers were not in the same position as fellow Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who have been forced to sell Liverpool due to debts incurred in buying the now ailing five-time European champions.
CNN
