Manchester United return to the top of the football rich list which could net the Glazers £4BILLION
Man United are at the top of the sports rich list for the first time in 13 years and if the Glazers want to sell they would make a staggering amount of money
MANCHESTER UNITED have returned to the top of the sports rich list for the first time in 13 years.
The glory years of a club that have won the most league titles (20) in this country, seem a distant memory since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, despite winning the FA Cup last season.
With United heading the list once again, indicates that despite the past four years being nothing like the 26 before that under Ferguson, they are still a major force and global attraction off it.
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With Jose Mourinho taking over the reigns last summer, his main aim for the club was to finish at least in the top four of the Premier League, and return to the European elite by qualifying for the Champions League.
Currently sitting sixth in the table four points of fourth placed Liverpool, a return to Europe's major competition is by no means a guarantee, in the times of an ever changing Premier League.
Despite Moruinho's main objective being a top four finish, there were expectations that Man United would be challenging for the title in his first season in charge.
Although that has not happened, Mourinho has guided the club in to another showpiece final, after beating Hull City over two legs 3-2 on aggregate in the EFL Cup semi-final.
The Europa League is a target for Mourinho, who sees the tournament as a back-up to not finishing fourth, with the winners qualifying automatically for the Champions League.
Although Man United won the FA Cup last season under Louis Van Gaal, there was a feeling that under the Dutchman, it was as far as he could take the club.
With Mourinho however, there is a real belief, especially with club captain Wayne Rooney, that they have finally found the manager to replace Ferguson, after two disappointments in David Moyes and Van Gaal.
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Mourinho will only further increase the interest in Man United off the pitch, his profile and attitude, suit that of Manchester United.
For the Glazer family the current United financial model is working brilliantly, with a manager and club with a huge global image, the United bank account is filling up quickly.
As reported by the , the American owners now value the club at £4bn, if they were to sell the Red Devils, then any investor or potential buyer would have to be wealthy enough to continue the club's financial growth, which would only excite the fans even more.
Football money league top 10
1. Manchester United £587m
2. Barcelona £528.7m
3. Real Madrid £528.6m
4. Bayern Munich £504m
5. Manchester City £446m
6. Paris Saint-Germain £443m
7. Arsenal £398m
8. Chelsea £381m
9. Liverpool £343m
10. Juventus £290m
Its is believed the Glazers will not sell below that figure, so it would take a huge amount of money to take the club out of the American's hands.
Sport business analysts are predicting that in the near future, Chinese investors may come in with a staggering offer that would blow football investment in the Premier League out of the water.
Chinese investors are expected to flood the Premier League due to its successful world wide brand, the Chinese Super League was thought to be a direct rival to England's top-flight with the amount of money it can offer to the best players in the world.
But there is lack of quality in terms of facilities, stadium wise, with poor pitches a major factor and there is also not the competitive level like there is in Europe and the Premier League.
What Chinese investors would love to do with the CSL, is already existing in England and it's believed that money will pour in from Asia which could kill the CSL rival model before its really started.
If there is a huge influx of Chinese money, the Premier League would move light-years away from the rest of Europe financially, which could see the likes of Manchester United and the other big clubs around them dominating the Champions League.
The Forbes rich list of sports teams say the Dallas Cowboys NFL team are the most valuable in the world at around £3.2bn.
But if United are to be sold by the Glazers, it's believed the 20-time-champions would gazump the value of that of the NFL team.
Its the Deloitte Sports Business Group that have placed United top of the Football Money League for the first time in 13 years.
Deloitte senior manager Tim Bridge said: “United are projected to earn £530m in the current financial year and normally when clubs are being bought and sold in the Premier League, deals usually happen generally around one or two times the value of incoming revenue.
“That would value United at just over £1bn but remember, when the Glazers bought United 11 years ago for £776m they paid 4.7 times the revenue at the time.”
“This is an industry with variables and it’s very hard to accurately make valuations.''
“In United’s case their commercial deals set them apart from anyone else – even Barcelona and Real Madrid currently.”
Under current circumstances United would be valued at around £2.5bn and £3bn, United's commercial success has continued to grow despite a decline on the pitch.
United have 70 commercial partner sponsors, with major clubs in Europe unable to compete with United on that front, including giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
United finished fifth last season and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three years, but that did not stop a record breaking revenue year, earning £515.3m, which was £120m more than the season before when they finished fourth.
Bridge added:“United have been able to secure commercial deals other clubs cannot have thought possible.
“Their £750m, 10-year kit deal with Adidas and the £330m shirt sponsorship with Chevrolet have set a benchmark for others to aspire to. Their continued commercial success has surprised many in the football world and clubs will have to respond. So far, the world’s biggest clubs have struggled over the last few years to compete with United commercially.
“And if United could match their on-field performance with their off-pitch performance levels there is every chance they’d remain at the top of our Money League for the foreseeable future.
“Their ability to increase revenue despite a significant fall in their on-pitch performance is simply phenomenal.
“It’s almost as if it doesn’t matter that they aren’t performing as well as they have done historically on the pitch. They still generate huge revenue.
“Fans flock to Old Trafford, they travel in their thousands and the club’s ability to strike global commercial deals has led to them topping the Money League.”