This might actually be good news, if you’re in the #GlazersOut and/or “green and gold until the club is sold” crowd. Manchester United may not be winning a lot of major trophies since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, but they remain champions on almost all of the branding, valuation and marketing lists.
United continue to win the corporate balance sheets, and as long as that continues, don’t expect club leadership to drastically change course too much. The club’s financial status got humbled a bit today though, as MUFC from second to sixth on the 2019 Forbes list of the world’s 50 most valuable sports franchises.
Old Trafford saw their value drop 8% from $4.12 billion to $3.81 billion and thus dropped below the two La Liga juggernauts Real Madrid and Barcelona; who stayed in their third and fourth place perches on the Forbes from last year.
So will this serve as a wake up call for the owners and the board? Will the club shift more power away from Executive Vice President Ed Woodward, an investment banker by trade, and towards legitimate football men?
Don’t bet on it, because this is still not a time to weep for the financial fortunes of the northwest England giant. They’re still right up there with the blockbuster La Liga duo comprising the most powerful football triumvirate in the entire world.
On those aforementioned brand, value and rich lists, it’s always these three clubs that are up at the top, leaps and bounds above everyone else.
The next closest competitor in England just happens to be United’s “noisy neighbors” Manchester City, who 19 spots down at #25, with a valuation of $2.69 billion. The Premier League is also represented on the Forbes list by Chelsea (#32, $2.58 billion) Arsenal (#42, $2.27 billion) and Liverpool (#45, $2.18 billion)
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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