Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s former executive vice-chair, claimed to analysts in 2018 that the team’s “playing performance doesn’t really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business”. United’s ongoing struggles on the pitch since then are bringing that assertion into question. After increasing its commercial revenues by a total of just 10 per cent over the past six seasons, the club has been leapfrogged by its two biggest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, which between them have won nine out of the previous 12 Premier League titles since United’s last triumph in 2013. Even after a 15th-place finish last year, and a failure to qualify for the lucrative Champions League, United’s commercial revenues remain commensurate with the most successful clubs in world football. Andy Green, finance director at Manchester United Supporters Trust and head of investment at private equity firm Rockpool Investments, warned the Financial Times tha...
The 2025-26 season has already begun, but it is not yet clear where Barcelona are going to play their home matches. Barca have not played at their Camp Nou ground since starting a €1.5billion (£1.3bn; $1.8bn) refurbishment project in June 2023, hosting games at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys across the city while works progress. Club president Joan Laporta has repeatedly said that returning to the 105,000-capacity remodelled stadium as soon as possible is crucial to boosting their troubled finances. The latest target for their return was their La Liga game against Valencia, currently scheduled for September 14 (although the date may be moved across that weekend). The plan was to reopen the Camp Nou at a reduced capacity of about 27,000. That would also make the stadium available for the league phase of the Champions League, which begins a few days later. However, the project continues to hit delays over factors within and beyond the club’s control, as The Athletic ...