Manuel Sanchez Gomez
London (EFE).- One of the most expensive club purchases in history is coming. The most, in fact, if Qatar or Ineos exceed 5,000 million pounds (5,650 million euros). And it would be justified to the last coin, because Manchester United is one of the most valuable brands in the world and with a view to improving in the coming years.
Both Qatar, through Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Ineos, with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe at the helm, have already submitted their latest offers to take over the Old Trafford club and it is now the turn of the Glazer family, owners of United since 2005, the one who has to decide which is the closest to his claims to get 6,000 million pounds from the sale.
Whether or not they reach that figure, United will most likely become the most expensive sports team in history, more than Chelsea cost (4.250 million pounds) and more than the team of NFL Washington Commanders (4,800 pounds).
And because? Because it’s worth it. This is stated by the Brand Finance consultancy, which places United as one of the countries that has come out of the pandemic the best financially and one of those with the best long-term perspective.
Its brand value has risen in value in the last two years, once the pandemic and the non-attendance of the public at the stadiums had passed, which brought economic drops in income on match days and in television income, and stands at 1,060 million pounds, still below the 1,400 that it reached in 2018, when the team was runner-up in the Premier and played in the Champions League.
However, its growth prospects are high, because it comes from dark times and after breaking a title drought that has lasted more than five years. He got even by winning the League Cup against Newcastle United and has a chance to spoil neighbors Manchester City’s treble in the FA Cup final.
The new project aims to rejuvenate the glory of the team
Erik Ten Hag’s new project aims to rejuvenate the glory of the team and regularly classify United to the Champions League, economically the most important objective of each season.
“His future is very promising,” they point out from Brand Finance, who calculate that the total value of United is around 3,500 million pounds, if its brand value, the value of the club and the net debt are added.
“When Chelsea were sold last year for £4.5bn, the club was worth close to £3bn, so it’s not surprising that the new owners have to pay a premium price.”
Another argument on which the consultant relies to justify the price they pay for United is the rise of women’s football and how well positioned the English club is, currently leading the women’s Premier League and in the final of the FA Cup to be played at Wembley, where tickets for the match have already been sold out.
This is not to say that buying United is not accompanied by problems and obligations. The first, to convince the fans, already fed up with the Glazer stage, who they accuse of having put the club into debt for their own benefit; and undertake the renovation of Old Trafford, which has become outdated compared to Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham, who have already renovated their stadiums or built new ones -Liverpool is in the process of being renovated-.
In addition, in the case of Qatar, the Premier League will have to give the go-ahead to a possible purchase, now that it has toughened the tests on owners and owners and will take into account aspects such as respect for human rights.
UEFA’s timeshare policy is also another issue, with Qatar owning Paris Saint Germain and Ratcliffe investing in Nice.