MANCHESTER UNITED’S record sale of Cristiano Ronaldo helped the English Premier League soccer team turn a profit last fiscal year, the club revealed in an offer document for a £500 million bond offering.

Net income for its holding company Red Football Ltd was £25.6 million for the year ending June 30th, 2009, compared with a loss of £26.3 million the previous year.

Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for £80 million (€89 million) last June. The 18-time English champions are seeking to sell senior secured notes due 2017 in both dollars and sterling in an effort to refinance its current debt, the offer document said, seen by Bloomberg.

The team, owned by the US- based Glazer family, has debts of £699 million. Interest payments on the loans have led to Red Football Joint Venture Ltd, the ultimate parent company, posting losses.

The bond offer did not provide details of the coupon. United spokesman Philip Townsend declined to provide further details.

“This looks like a fairly risky type of investment considering the amount of leverage the American owners have,” Jean-Luc Petit, a senior fixed-income fund manager at BT Investment Management, said.

“I don’t think mainstream bond fund managers would be that interested in investing in Manchester United.”

The filing showed United’s sales up 8.7 per cent to a record £278.5 million as the team marched on to a third straight league title and reached the Champions League final. Its income was also boosted by its new sponsor Aon paying £35.9 million up-front after agreeing on a four-year deal worth £80 million in May.

Red Football Joint Venture said in its latest filing last April that it had losses of £43.2 million for the year ending June 30th, 2008, after paying £68.8 million in interest. – (Bloomberg)