Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (continued)

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Commercial revenue

As described in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s consolidated revenue recognized for the year ended 30 June 2025 was £666,514 thousand, of which £333,274 thousand relates to commercial revenue. Revenue is recognized over the term of the commercial agreement in line with the performance obligations included within the contract and based on the sponsorship rights enjoyed by the individual sponsor. Minimum guaranteed revenue is recognized over the term of the commercial agreement in line with the performance obligations included within the contract and based on the sponsorship benefits enjoyed by the individual sponsor. In instances where the sponsorship rights remain the same over the duration of the contract, revenue is recognized as performance obligations are satisfied evenly over time. A number of commercial contracts contain significant estimates in relation to the allocation and recognition of revenue in line with performance obligations.

The principal consideration for our determination that performing procedures relating to commercial revenue is a critical audit matter is the significant assumptions made by management to allocate and recognize revenue across performance obligations. This, in turn led to a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity and effort in performing procedures to evaluate management’s allocation and recognition of revenue for each performance obligation satisfied in the period.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to commercial revenue recognition, including controls over the allocation and recognition of revenue for satisfying performance obligations. These procedures also included, among others, testing management’s process for allocating and recognizing revenue in line with the satisfaction of performance obligations, including evaluating the appropriateness of the methodology applied and testing the completeness and accuracy of data used in the allocation and recognition of commercial revenue. Evaluating the reasonableness of the allocation of revenue to performance obligations involved obtaining the related contracts and assessing the reasonableness of assumptions utilized by management associated with the allocation and recognition of revenue to the contract terms.

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (continued)

Critical Audit Matters (continued)

Value of intangible assets – registrations

As described in Note 16 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s consolidated intangible assets relating to player registrations for the year ended 30 June 2025 was £537,348 thousand. The costs associated with the acquisition of players’ and key football management staff registrations are capitalized as intangible assets at the value of the consideration payable, including the estimated value of any contingent consideration. As disclosed by management, the estimate of the value of the contingent consideration payable requires management to assess the likelihood of specific performance conditions being met which would trigger the payment of the contingent consideration. This assessment is carried out on an individual basis. Management’s estimate over the probability of contingent consideration payable could impact the net book value of registrations and amortization recognized in the consolidated statement of profit or loss.

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to value of intangible assets - registrations is a critical audit matter are the significant estimation by management when developing the estimate of the contingent consideration payable, including assessing the likelihood of specific performance conditions being met. This, in turn, led to a high degree of auditor judgment, effort and subjectivity in performing procedures to evaluate management’s significant estimates over the likelihood of specific performance conditions being met which would trigger the payment of the contingent consideration, including the number of player appearances.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to intangible assets – registrations, including controls over the review and approval of management assumptions over the likelihood of specific performance conditions being met. These procedures also included, among others, testing management’s process for estimating the value of the contingent considerations, including (i) evaluating the model; (ii) testing the completeness and accuracy of data; and (iii) evaluating the reasonableness of the significant assumptions utilized in determining the probability of future contingent consideration payments at the balance sheet date.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Manchester, United Kingdom

18 September 2025

We have served as the Company’s or its predecessors’ auditor since 2001.

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