United Is A Cash Cow Club
As a football club Manchester United makes serious amounts of money and no wonder the owners are not bothered by the lack of success. The people in charge have let the owners down and there needs to be a total rebuild not only with the squad, but how they do business in the boardroom. Yes they could make far more money, but they are happy with what is being generated and the only ones who aren't happy are the fans.
When the Glazier family purchased Manchester United back in May 2005 little did anyone realise what was going to unfold. The Glazier family never actually invested in the club as they used leverage/loans to get the deal done. A club that had no debt suddenly had over £800 million in debt on their books. The loans were taken out against the assets of the club which would not be a legal practice today. They have no personal connection to the club as they pulled off a heist.
One just has to look at the impact the loans/debt has actually cost the club and to realise why the family wanted Manchester United. Back in 2009 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were ranked 32/32 with regard to spend in the NFL. Today they are over the salary cap imposed by the NFL to the tune of $51 million.
Manchester United is seen as a business like it should be as that is exactly what football clubs are. Very few clubs make profit and if one looks across Europe there are only 10 clubs who made more than $1 million profit between 2019-2021. There are more than 100 clubs in the top leagues so this is less than 1% which is a shocking stat.
The Glaziers have cost United an average of 16% every year besides the loan repayments. The owners have taken more out than they have spent on players which is kind of expected and still haven't paid off the loans.
United are one club that make profit and loads of it which is why it is the perfect cash cow that can fund their other "investments" like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Looking at the figures spent on players over the last 10 years Manchester United have spent the most and yet have nothing to show for this. What this is telling us is they have spent but haven't spent wisely. When fans demand new blood they panic buy and end up with a mish mash squad. Take note Liverpool doesn't even make this list yet look what they have achieved by buying correctly.
"/.Fans are desperate but the Glaziers have been the biggest spenders amongst all the football clubs so what more do they want? Winning trophies is not on the cards for the next few years as to do that you would have to attract the top players and that will require on field successes meaning a new team.
The worry is now is that money is not going to fix this problem as players don't want to come to United as they have no faith in the club management. A footballer wants to win trophies so where is the lure as there is nothing going for United today. This is the hard truth fans are starting to realise that this is going to take years to fix.
Rebuilding the squad from scratch keeping a few players is going to cost a fortune so this has to happen over the next 3 or 4 years. The Glaziers are happy as they are making money and kind of reminds us of what Arsenal were dealing with when Arsene Wenger was doing his magic. That is not so easy to pull off today as clubs are spending wisely making every buck count which is the opposite of United. Look at how many players they have let go at a loss with Pogba being a prime example.
Manchester United has tripled their revenue since the Glaziers have been in charge but Manchester City and Liverpool are still outpacing them. The biggest impact is the television revenue as United are well down the list which is due to their performances on the field and not qualifying for Europe. Match day revenue which is up by £18m (£90m) they are trailing City +£26m, Liverpool +£38m, Chelsea +£35M and Tottenham +£77m. United are trailing on so many areas where they used to be leading.
There is apparently a take over bid happening from a former United director who tried to purchase the club back in 1989 for a record fee of £20 million. Crazy numbers now as the club is valued at £4.6 billion which may sound high but it genuinely is a good business. Will the Glaziers sell their cash cow as I wouldn't knowing how much it generates.
We need more posts like this on Leofinance. The business aspect of sports is a great subject for articles.
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I agree as it does make more sense why certain teams do better than others. Many more can relate to things if they understand how the business is run.
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This is a great analysis from the buisness aspect of things! Everybody is always discussing how certain palyers are bad or the coach selected the wrong tactics but looking at the buisness behind it is actually really exciting as well!
Very cool article :)
Hmmm! am beginning to think which club is more business minded Manchester United or Arsenal ?🤔
Arsenal have changed as back in the 90's they were like United and when they missed out on the top 4 have been struggling ever since. It takes huge spending and commitment to stay in the top 4 and who knows if they can achieve this again. Tottenham, Man City and Liverpool will achieve it so there is room for 1 more club. One would think Newcastle will be there within the next 2 years so it is going to be very difficult for the others to achieve this.
Tottenham is still a doubt In the top four this season,remember we have Chelsea . The only sure contenders are Manchester City and Liverpool, the door will still be open for the remaining two.
That’s right,Newcastle are really planning big and will be an upset for the BIG 6.
I just don't see Chelsea or Arsenal as a threat and Tottenham playing Chelsea this weekend should show that quite clearly. Chelsea are lacking quality and need a top striker to be considered a challenger for the top 4. With the World Cup sandwiched in between this season teams that don't have international stars should benefit so we may see some upsets later this year. Having a good quality squad is going to be very important and Tottenham seem to have that.
I will be anticipating for the match ( Tottenham vs Chelsea) and will come back here to tell you Chelsea is the better team, hopefully it doesn’t go the other way. How come will they play World Cup in between a season, Or do you mean the World Cup qualifiers?
The transfers windows is still open and Chelsea can still sign a top striker.
Premier League stops from 14th November to the 26th December. World Cup 18th November till 21st December. The Christmas period is going to be extremely tough for the squads who have international players. Let us see who Chelsea get as the names mentioned so far are not exactly world beaters.
Oh! This is the first time I will be seeing this happen, players will definitely be stress out.
There are still top strikers out there , even in my neighborhood.
I hope the fans' plan to boycott United’s next game works. The team has been on the downhill for long but the Glazers don't care, it's the money that is most important to them.
The worst part is, without Champions league football, it's hard for the coach to get the players he desires.
I don't see how boycotting the fixtures is going to change things. The top players will not come until the club is winning things and are in Champions League football which is a long way off.
I've always said it that Utd's problem is beyond the field and the club should be sold to serious owners who understands the football aspect not just the business. The reason Utd are still suffering is because the onfield failures hasn't really affected their off field business.
Very true as they are still making decent profits even though it could be far more.
I just wish fans over the world can start boycotting their merchandise
Yes I think you're right about United being a cash cow.
Nothing worse for fans than a clear lack of ambition and ambivalence.
Really, hadn't heard about that, it'll be interesting to see what happens
Don't see them selling as why should they when it generates money for their NFL franchise. Liverpool owners had the same intention as they own the Red Sox. A leaked memo actually saved Liverpool from the same fate plus they have a decent scouting set up and bought wisely.
Klopp played a big part too, using money wisely and getting the most from what he had, while United have haf a revolving door of managers since Fergie. Arsenal will soon kick on too in my opinion I would say that! as they have stuck with Arteta allowing him to settle and learn.
Yep I remember doing some research on this concept of a "leveraged buyout". It's unbelievable...
Well there's FC United of Manchester that fans can follow as an alternative. A breakaway club formed by fans, and is fan owned.
They're seventh tier so may be hard for the glory hunting fans to jump ship.
We have spent the most and indeed we have nothing to show for it. It's quite shameful. I sincerely hope it can be possible to treat contracts with our players like pay as you win... Everyone coming into the club knows they won't win titles but as long as the money is good, they would take it. Just see how Brentford played United like a school boy team sir 😂😂😂😂🤣. We are done.
United is a poison chalice right now and no one decent will come to the club. Always said it is a rebuild and now it is obvious. The players are terrible and need to be moved on. Too many name players who are not prepared to work hard as a team. They are in trouble and cannot see any good players arriving anytime soon. Forget top 4 as top 10 is going to be tough.
You have rightly nailed it on the head sir. The next 8 games would be tough and I can't see them winning any...at most a draw especially against another terrible team like Everton. They are in a relegation fight already with just 2 games in. It's worse already. Any player that wants to come in must think carefully because this is one bumpy ride and I can't see it get better until all these overpaid players leave and players who are ready to do the work while suffering along the road comes in. This should be a rebuilding period but all they are doing is patching things up.