All to play for as United revival continues
What better way to start a new football season than with a £900m+ kit sponsor’s cheque in your back pocket?
Last week Manchester United confirmed its continuing partnership with German sports kit giant adidas, worth at least £900m over 10 years.
The deal provides stability to the club’s finances and confidence in its regime, despite the ownership uncertainty still hanging over Old Trafford.
The incumbent Glazer family put the club on the block in November last year, saying they would “consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company”.
The move was probably the most significant by the owners since they bought the club for £790m in 2005, but probably borne by massive fan unrest over their aborted plans to join the ill-fated European Super League in 2021, which resulted in the abandoning of United’s Premier League game against arch rivals Liverpool after protests against the move by United fans at the Old Trafford ground.
Since then, the Glazers have remained silent, apparently still pondering the only two serious bids on the table from Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad al Thani and Failsworth-born lifelong United fan, billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, owner of the INEOS chemicals group.
The latest reports claim the Sheikh has offered close to £5bn for total control of the club, while Sir Jim and INEOS are pitching a higher price, but allowing the Glazers to retain an initial stake of 20% as part of a gradual exit.
Old Trafford
However, the Americans are reportedly asking in the region of £6bn, a massive mark-up on their original outlay, and considering the club still carries non-current borrowings of $650m and a new owner will have to fund huge improvements to Old Trafford, or even bankroll a completely new stadium.
But commercial prospects, similar to on-the-field improvements, offer a glimmer of hope following a return to normality after the costly COVID-19 ground closures.
Third quarter results in June – showing sales of £170m compared with £152.8m at the same point the previous year, and a significant reduction in losses of £5.6m, against the prior £27.7m loss – included a record full-year forecast.
The club announced that, for fiscal year 2023, it had raised its previous revenue guidance from £590m to £610m, to a record £630m to £640m, and raised its previous adjusted EBITDA guidance of £125m to £140m, to £140m to £150m.
The lure of the Red Devils is also gathering momentum.
United achieved record sales of global memberships, with the 2022/23 programme having closed at 360,000 members, the largest paid membership programme in world sport.
And there remains continued exceptional demand for tickets, with more than 146,000 fans currently on the season ticket waiting list – 2023/24 renewals for season tickets and executive club, which launched in February, sold out in record time with the lowest ever churn.
Erik ten Hag – courtesy MUFC
Fans sense a resurgence under current manager Erik ten Hag – despite the 0-7 anomaly at Anfield last March when the squad suffered a harsh reality check.
During the close season the Dutch boss has added Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Inter’s Andre Onana to the squad, as well as retaining the services of England striker Marcus Rashford.
But the signing of forward Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta for £72m should be enough to embolden even the gloomiest United fan.
The Danish wunderkind might even be seen as the answer to their ‘noisy neighbours’ talisman, Erling Haaland, the City forward who seems to smash scoring records for fun.
