Manchester United say controversial ticket price increases are part of the club’s aim to put themselves “on a stronger financial footing”.

United were accused of exploiting fans after taking the mid-season decision to raise matchday ticket prices to £66 per game, with no concessions for children or pensioners.

A supporter-led protest was held before Sunday’s 4-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford.

United posted net losses of £113.2m for the 12 months ending 30 June 2024.

In response to the criticism, United said in a statement on Monday: “As a club, we have been focused on cost saving to put us on a stronger financial footing.

“This means having to make very hard decisions, including a significant reduction in our staff numbers.

“It also means looking for opportunities to increase our revenues so we can continue to invest in football and infrastructure.

“We have now sold over 97 per cent of tickets this season, many of which were at a discounted rate. We are implementing some policy changes for matches that have already sold out, where only small numbers of tickets will be released.”

In their first-quarter financial results released last week, United revealed they had spent £8.6m as part of a redundancy programme that has led to about 250 employees losing their jobs.

Sir Alex Ferguson will also leave his role as Manchester United ambassador at the end of the season, having been paid a multi-million-pound sum by the club since his retirement as manager in 2013.

The ticket pricing announcement came after the club confirmed the cost of paying off former boss Erik ten Hag and his staff was £10.4m, while the cost of paying a release clause to bring in his replacement Ruben Amorim was £11m.