Cheque-mate for Gold Trafford

stuart mathieson

May 01, 2007

MANCHESTER United can this week leap-frog Chelsea in the millionaire stakes.

The Old Trafford coffers are already swelling with cash from their Champions League and FA Cup runs and a Premiership jackpot is already guaranteed.

Europe has netted the Reds around £8m in UEFA prize money for getting to the semi-finals. If they can knock out AC Milan tomorrow night in the San Siro after their 3-2 Old Trafford first leg success then they will secure another £4m for being a finalist in Athens.

Victory in the May 23 showpiece will add another £3m to the credit column.

There is a £1m difference up for grabs at Wembley between losing and winning the FA Cup against Chelsea on May 19.

In the Premiership the difference between title winners and runners-up is minimal and United's bank balance will increase to the tune of £10m whether the Champions-elect succeed in dethroning Chelsea or not.

Prize money alone could land Gold Trafford around £18m over the next six matches and that doesn't take into account the extremely lucrative TV pot.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is aiming to make the London club the world's No1 soccer brand by 2014 and that has added spice to the on-field battle between England's Big Two.

But a leading financial expert believes the Reds could blow the Stamford Bridge outfit away in the global financial league if they were to land the Treble again.

"If United were to win the three big competitions again it would push them into a world football league that even Chelsea would struggle to keep up with," says Wisespeak financial expert Vinay Bedi.

"United did very well in 1999 on the back of the Treble in terms of a wider global market becoming interested in the club and the brand. The problem was things quietened down a bit for United after that. They didn't build on their Champions League success. The club didn't really move on.

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"If that could be avoided if they won the Treble this season and there was substantial investment in the transfer market in the summer as well, then you would really see them move on and they'd really lead the way.

"I'd take Kenyon's 2014 world domination comments with a pinch of salt. I think it will be a slower process than he says. They haven't got the history United have and the name of Manchester United.

"If United were to overhaul them on all fronts then they'd leave Chelsea behind off the field and also topple Real Madrid of top perch as the richest club.

"The short-term cash benefits of winning the FA Cup, the Premiership and the Champions League are good but it's not the immediate or short-term benefits its the long-term knock-on effects that would set them apart.

"Chelsea though are still a major player in the financial league and defeating Jose Mourinho's side in the league, at Wembley and possibly in Athens would be a huge cash coup.

"For United the overall impact of beating Chelsea in those competitions would secure bragging rights in a lucrative world football market," Bedi added.

"It would be a staggering achievement for United to do it again, and with their history as well, it would thrust them well into the nooks and crannies of the Far East, American and Chinese markets.

"With United having American owners they'll want to make an impact in the States. But there is a very big pay-day to be had in China."

United fans, who are still reeling that the Reds have bucked the current trend for reducing or freezing most ticket prices, will be hoping some of the future bounty will bring more big names to Old Trafford to hold off Roman Abramovich's huge personal financial clout.

What do you think? Have your say.

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Submit Comments | Comments (19) |

Showing comments 1 to 19 and replies | View All

manc abroad, OT (01/05/2007 at 09:46)

Without the russians money Chel$ki would be nowhere near the top of the financial tree.

take the russian out of the picture and Chel$ki wouöld crumble, another Leeds in the making.

Balders, Tier 2 Stretford (01/05/2007 at 09:55)

nice money eh, MALCOLM !!

Fredrik, Sweden (01/05/2007 at 10:02)

This summer will be crucial in terms of what financial backing the Glazers will offer in the transfer market. We have now made transfer profits in two consequtive windows and I would be surprised if the Glazers handed 30-40m to Fergie to invest.

We desperately need a striker to lead the line and I think we would have very little chance of signing someone like Villa, Etoo or Torres, should they become available. They would be very expensive and Chelsea would outbid us too easily. Berbatov would also be very expensive so maybe Smith + 5m would give us McCarthy. That feels like a realistic transfer, we can just forget about Villa and Berbatov.

Demo, Glossop (01/05/2007 at 10:04)

is this guy a united supporter by any chance? dont blame him like!

well if this isnt an incentive for the glazers to stump up a large transfer pot i dont know what is! the best way for them to make money out of united is to invest lots of money for transfers - oh and charge us fans less! :)

Paulo (01/05/2007 at 10:12)

i'm curious as to IF we win the treble or even a double the Glazers will attempt to strengthen the team or line their pockets

Red Eyes, Manchester (01/05/2007 at 10:32)

To about 65,000 of regular attenders at Old Trafford, MONEY is the price we pay for a sason ticket. It is the FOOTBALL and TEAM that matters. Yes, we need brass to buy players and maintain contracts etc etc but "Gold" to me means being the best.

RJKS (01/05/2007 at 10:33)

& most of it will go to Malcolm / the bank !

Birdy, Ireland (01/05/2007 at 10:50)

How much of it would Fergie see and how much would go on interest payments?

george (01/05/2007 at 11:04)

Balders;You know if it wasn't Malcolm someone else would be making money out of OT.
They have kept a very low profile and allowed the Coaching Staff to run things.
It could be much worse.Do you not agree?

ged (01/05/2007 at 13:15)

Balders you could have said "nice money hey shareholders " before Glazer took controll.

On another note i see this article failed to mention the incredibly huge win bonus ALL the players will be on. Just a lil bit MEN miss deliberately as it wouldn't stoke the hate Glazer mob as much.

de Meester, netherlands (01/05/2007 at 13:27)

Yet the fans will have to put their hands in their pocket - again!
More ridiculous ticket price increases!!
Enough said for now!

edinburgh red, edinburgh (01/05/2007 at 13:29)

Winning and making loads of money is no use unless we invest it into the current squad, we are short of cover by about 5 players and what we dont need is 4 out 5 in. Chelsea and liverpool along with the usuals will be competiting in the bidding for players in the summer and if the russians get rid of jose I hate to think how much money the new manager will get.

bobbydazzler (01/05/2007 at 13:58)

george, pre the glazers the profits previously helped us rebuild our stadium and compete effectivley in the transfer market. since the glazers have bought us our cash reserves have dissapeared we have become nett sellers in the transfer market. our kids are out on loan all over the place. and worst of all he is using the moneys generated by the supporters to buy the club. add to that the enormous amounts for restructuring the loan and massive interest payements. so how has nothing changed??

Loyal to the End (31 years, City Fans, 31 years), Nottingham, ex-Malaysia (01/05/2007 at 15:01)

Love United, Hate Glazer...

Southern Red (01/05/2007 at 15:11)

I'm sure its all very interesting, but I've got other things on my mind for the next 22 days.

cheeseyrimmer1, tameside (01/05/2007 at 19:58)

who cares about the financial side,just look where we are. thats all that matters.there`s too many accountants on here, care about the team & and let the people who run the place worry about the rest.were in pole position come on.

Duncan, London (02/05/2007 at 11:52)

Most have said it already. If it can be translated into success on the pitch and/or lower ticket prices then it is good news otherwise it is of no interest to me.

Balders, Tier 2 Stretford (02/05/2007 at 13:51)

cheers Bobby, couldn't have put it better. Obviously George, i didn't mention owt about what they've done or not done 'cos we know that & yes it could have been someone else but either way i didn't see them in the bullens rd on saturday!! aka, they've hardly supported utd since they were kids have they so what is their motive/interest (& now requirement!) ??....exactly !!

Steve in Brussels (02/05/2007 at 15:58)

I would expect us to spend a good £40m or more this summer and be a lot stronger to boot. The best way to handle the interest payments is success on the pitch - as this article basically says. You do not go into debt for the pointless purpose of repaying it, you go into debt as a calculated risk in order to finance growth that will repay that debt and give profits and repeated success. Not a tricky idea if you get your head around it. Bring various taxes into the equation and it can actually make sense in some scenarios to stay in debt and even take more to offset tax liabilities. Warning though: Do not use this endorsement of some aspects of debt to mean it is a good idea to load up your credit cards with debt as it most certainly is not. There is sensible use of debt that can benefit and there is stupid use of debt that can be disastrous.

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