They were the Premier League’s dream team. A leader in Sir Alex Ferguson and a team that had dethroned a Liverpool club that had never won the Premier League and was not competing for the Champions League. In short, the best. Their marketing department was the best in world football in terms of turnover, dominating the English-speaking and Asian market in a way that other clubs could only aspire to. 

The arrival of the Glazer brothers coupled with Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure led to a complete loss of direction and gradual decline, to a point where United are no longer considered contenders for the Champions League, if they even qualify, and are lagging behind both Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League. They are happy to spend the money but the big players no longer want to come to United. The latest to decline is Kylian Mbappé. They gave everything. 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO of the INEOS Group, became a 25% shareholder in December. In January, Omar Berrada, former Chief Football Operations Officer at City, has now been appointed CEO at United. In addition, £300 million plus the profit from transfer sales for the 2024/2025 season, as well as the departure of coach Erik Ten Hag, were approved to try and tempt Mbappé to lead the line and sign for the Red Devils. Never, never, never. For United, it is back to the drawing board.