Manchester United have been warned that Arsenal are starting to close the gap in their success, away from the pitch....CONTINUE READING
The long-term success of the club and virtual dominance of the Premier League during Sir Alex Ferguson’s time as manager has seen the club maintain their status as a high-profile team and global brand.
This means that United not only cash in during match days at Old Trafford and when competing for major trophies but also as part of lucrative broadcast and commercial deals.
The Money League, published by Deloitte in January 2023, showed United had earned £583.2m, placing them as the fourth richest club in world football, based on their revenue for the 2021/22 campaign, narrowly behind Manchester City, Real Madrid and Liverpool. Meanwhile, long-standing Premier League rivals Arsenal were listed down in 10th place with £367.1m.
A further look at the numbers offered by Deloitte reveals that, despite finishing sixth in the Premier League and suffering relatively early exits in all competitions, United earned more commercial revenue (£263.7m) than Liverpool (£234.7m), who finished second and reached the final of all three major cups. A stark contrast to the Gunners, who earned £142.5m in commercial money during the 2021-22 season.
Arsenal supporters have often taken umbrage with owner Stan Kroenke since he completed a takeover in 2018 – similar to a section of Manchester United fans against the Glazers – particularly when the club were one of six English clubs to sign up to the ill-fated European Super League.
However, the north London club have since appointed a new head of marketing and a head of commercial ventures, as well as agreeing sponsorship deals with Google Pixel and Unilever. Serving as a warning to United, football finance expert Kieran Maguire thinks that the club are learning from their past mistakes.
“I think Arsenal have been asleep at the wheel with regard to the monetisation of their brand,” Maguire told Football Insider. “The likes of Manchester United and Liverpool have been gold-plated in terms of their approach, with commercial and marketing departments in more than one location.
“That has allowed them to access big brands and get deals over the line. After some fairly sleepy years, Stan Kroenke seems to have realised that they cannot afford to ignore a major income stream in the form of commercial revenue.
I don’t know whether it’s the fact that his son is now more actively involved with the club or not. But Arsenal are now heading in the right direction….READFULL
