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The financial gulf between Valencia and United

How big the gap is on the pitch between Valencia and Manchester United remains to be seen, but the financial gap is huge. Valencia's position is precarious, particularly when it has to compete the fourth Spanish Champions League place. Barcelona, Athletico Madrid and Real Madrid usually get the other three. Valencia have returned to the Champions League for the first time in three seasons.

It wasn't always that way, of course. In 2000 and 2001 the club reached the Champions League final and in 2004 it won the Uefa Cup. But the financial stakes in football have changed and the gap between the clubs with a global profile and those in the second tier has widened. One time heavyweights like AC Milan and Olympique de Marseille have fallen behind the pack.

Valencia were bankrupt before a Singaporean billionaire, Peter Lim, rescued them in 2014. Lim has invested €200m of his own fortune in the club as he tries to turn a large fortune into a small one. But, as is so often the case, he has proved to be a controversial figure. Investors expect results and if they don't get them, they fire the coach. Six were shown the door between 2015 and 2017.

United's latest accounts show revenues of £590m. Valencia's latest accounts show revenues of just over €100m, in other words one sixth of those of United. Match day revenues are just €15m compared with just under £110m at Old Trafford. Work to replace the crumbling Mestalla stadium was halted in 2007. The club has now hired Deloitte to oversee the sale of its existing stadium and complete the new one, expected to cost around €150m.

United are known for the sophistication of its commercial sponsorships, extracting money for obscure rights from remote countries. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that one day that Tuvalu had sponsored the pitch watering system.

Anil Murthy, the former Singapore diplomat who is the club's president, told the Financial Times that in the last decade 'the football industry has evolved very quickly, and it's accelerating.' Perhaps too fast for Valencia, but if they can play in the Champions League, they will benefit in terms of prestige and budget. Unfortunately, the club is currently 14th in La Liga.

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