Finance guru issues Man United verdict after £76m humiliation
Richard Arnold’s “biggest challenge” at Man United is to address the £75.8million revenue chasm between themselves and Man City.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the new Red Devils’ CEO’s in-tray.
The 51-year-old is set to take over from Ed Woodward as the top official at Old Trafford from 1 February.
The Daily Mail reported last Monday (10 January) that Arnold is set to take a laissez-faire approach to sporting operations to focus on business output.
City posted annual revenues of £569.8m the following Wednesday (13 January), outstripping United’s turnover of £494m over the same period.
That made the 2020-21 campaign the first in history in which the Red Devils were not the Premier League’s biggest revenue generators.
It is no surprise given United’s corporate humiliation at the hands of their rivals that Arnold will focus on commercial matters, claims Plumley.
“This is the biggest challenge for United,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“City are out-doing them on the pitch and in commercial terms as well.
“If you look at it front and centre irrespective of what role he might have had in football operations, his biggest challenge is a commercial one.
“We can’t separate the sporting side out from that because he is in part reliant on sporting success on the pitch.
“Success on the pitch will drive up any commercial activities you’ve got going on, of course it will.
“But the club are no longer the biggest revenue generators in England, and the challenge is coming from just around the corner.
“So it’s no surprise to see that he wants to focus on the business side of things. He’s got a lot on his hands with that at the moment.”
United are currently in 7th place in the Premier League, 24 points behind leaders Man City.
Ralf Rangnick’s side are next in action against Brentford tomorrow night (19 January).
In other news, pundit suggest Anthony Martial has “disrespected” Man United fans after Sky Sports update today.