Sorta lends a lie to the notion that a team needs both C.L. football and to be frugal to exist at the top.
True. United's extra £70M is clearly down in a large part to the extra £40M adidas are giving them over their previous sponsor. On the pitch activities now only seem to be a small part of creating PR for the off the pitch deals.
I've said before that if I was a club owner, of a club I had no affiliation to, then the best place to be is probably just outside the top four consistently.
Getting in the top four means the supporters get more ambitious, demand better players on more expensive contracts, you need bigger squads and to pay players more for competing in the Champions League. And if you're only there for a season you have a huge financial hangover.
The extra money from the CL is now relative peanuts compared to a big clubs total revenue. They get so much money (eg. TV money) just by playing - not needing to really be competitive eg. West Ham.
In the past owners and fans wanted the same thing - on the pitch success even if it was for slightly different reasons. Nowadays the owners of clubs would celebrate a 10 year sportswear deal more than any trophy. Strange times for the sport.
With the expanded stadium it will be interesting to see if we close the gap on Chelsea and Arsenal next year.
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