After more than 10 years of capital, Manchester United is no longer the number one football brand in the UK

Manchester United is no longer the number one brand in the UK

In the Sir Ferguson era, Manchester United became the most valuable football brand in the UK with its brilliant record. However, a decade of continued downturn suggests that this status is not eternal.

The sluggish competitive sports dragged down business development

In 2018, Ed Woodward, then executive vice chairman of Manchester United, declared to analysts: "The team's competitive performance actually has little impact on our business revenue." However, the team's record of plummeting on the court since then made this statement increasingly untenable.

In the past six seasons, Manchester United's total business revenue has increased by only 10%. At the same time, the two major rivals Manchester City and Liverpool not only dominate the Premier League (the two teams have won nine championships in the past 12 seasons since Manchester United last won the championship), but have long left the Red Devils behind in terms of commercial revenue.

Even though Manchester United ranked only 15th in the Premier League last season and missed the Champions League, its commercial income level is still comparable to that of the world's most successful clubs. However, Andy Green, treasurer of the Manchester United Fan Association and head of the investment company, warned that the club's current survival model is "consuming past accumulation."

New ambitions of Ratcliffe's era

In 2024, chemical giant billionaire Jim Ratcliff spent $1.6 billion to acquire 29% of Manchester United's shares and gain control of club football operations. Although the team's performance has continued to decline in recent years, he is still confident in the strong appeal of the Manchester United brand.

"Manchester United's brand value is comparable to Coca-Cola and Apple," Ratcliffe declared at the inauguration of the new training centre designed by renowned architect Norman Foster. The center is equipped with advanced facilities such as an underwater treadmill and a high-altitude simulation training room with adjustable temperature and humidity.

Since Sir Ferguson retired in 2013, Manchester United has invested more than 2 billion euros in the player transfer market, with net expenditure (excluding player sales revenue) reaching 1.7 billion euros, the highest in the Premier League. Although Ratcliffe had previously caused dissatisfaction with fans for a sharp cut in spending, he has now given the green light to big signings.

In the summer window of 2025, Manchester United spent about 200 million pounds to sign Mattus Cunia, Brian Mbeumo and Benjamin Sheshko, and the recruitment spending was only lower than that of Liverpool and Chelsea. The brand is still there, and it is difficult to continue its glory. Despite the difficulties, Manchester United can still attract sponsorships from large companies. Qualcomm has renewed its Snapdragon brand jersey sponsorship contract until 2029, with an annual value of US$75 million. In 2023, Adidas also signed a huge 10-year contract worth about £900 million with Manchester United, although it was deducted £10 million this season because Manchester United missed the Champions League.

In the nine months ended March 31 this year, Manchester United's commercial revenue reached £245.1 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%. "The difficulties do exist, but we promise to go with Manchester United. We believe they can overcome them, and I am satisfied with the measures they are taking at this time." However, Green believes that there is no "silver bullet" (universal solution) that can nearly quadruple business revenue like the Woodward era. In the decade before 2015, Manchester United's business revenue soared from about £50 million to nearly £200 million.

According to sources close to the club, building a new stadium costing at least £2 billion is the key to starting a new round of commercial sponsorship revenue. But when the new stadium project has not yet been launched, the most realistic accelerator is still to return to the Champions League.

At present, Manchester United can only struggle in domestic competitions. The Ratcliff and the Glazer family put their hopes on new players and look forward to helping coach Ruben Amorin improve the team's performance.

However, Green also warned: "The risk is that these huge investments may not bring the expected results. If you cannot return to the Champions League, profits cannot improve, and revenue cannot grow, then Manchester United will only accumulate more transfer debts in the next three to four years."