Why do we keep reading about Manchester United's desire to sign Gareth Bale? Two words: Ed Woodward.
United's executive vice-chairman has a plan. It is not a particularly original plan, but it is certainly grandiose. Woodward's calculation is that spending big earns big in the modern football market. Specifically, spending big on the big-name players.
When Woodward watches Cristiano Ronaldo, he sees commercial revenue. And what propelled Woodward from his 2005 role helping the Glazer family with United's “financial planning” to his appointment as the club's chief executive in 2013 was an impressive ability to inflate commercial cash flow.
Under his stewardship, the club has landed record shirt sponsorship and kit deals and so many global, regional, media and financial “partners” they can't even be shown on a single page of the official website.There is no question that Manchester United sells and that Woodward has succeeded in selling it like no one before him. When it comes to buying, however, the 43-year-old chartered accountant is rather more derivative. Think Real Madrid. Think Galactico. Think of Woodward as a wannabe Florentino Perez.
Sir Alex Ferguson's net spend on transfer fees in his eight years working for the Glazers averaged out at under £20 million a season; Woodward has taken just three windows to negotiate several transfers worth more than that figure. When United's chief executive is asked about how far he is prepared to take the club's spending, he goes out of his way to emphasise its scale.
“The reality is that we're not afraid of spending significant amounts of money in the transfer market,” said Woodward in the summer. “Whether it's a record or not doesn't really resonate with us. There is no budget.
“I want us to win. I want to stop seeing the best players going to other clubs in Spain, I want us to stand out as the best club in the world. We’ll do absolutely everything we can to achieve that.”Woodward refuses to have his view of United's global stature obscured by anything as categorical as European Cup count, relative income or current league position. “Talking to agents, talking from a player’s perspective about wanting to come to us, we are the biggest club in the world, there’s no question in my mind about that."
And, taking such giddiness to another level entirely, he told Manchester United's official website: “This is the biggest sports team in the world, not just the biggest football team.”
It is this kind of thinking that helps explain the groundhog day reporting on Bale. The Welshman is already a bona fide Galactico, acquired by Real Madrid for a world-record fee of €100 million. He is almost the most commercially exciting active footballer born in the UK. When journalists ask whether Woodward is interested in bringing Bale back to the Premier League as soon as possible, the answer is yes. Cue stories about United lining up Bale.
One problem with this is that United have been here before. As Madrid messed Daniel Levy around on the precise terms and schedule of their offer to meet the Tottenham Hotspur chairman's asking price for Bale in the summer of 2013, Woodward was waiting in the wings. His strategy was that of a man who believes money makes the day—to come in with a bigger, better last-minute offer for a commodity and gazump all rivals.Ask those who know Perez well whether he'd take a quick profit on his gaudiest transfer, and the answer would be no way. Ask Perez himself about selling to United and the reply is: “We have not received an offer from Manchester or any other club for Gareth Bale. We would never listen to any offer for Bale, no matter what the fee.”
As for Bale, he doesn't appear too enamoured with the idea of swapping the summit of European football for a club still struggling to keep Southampton below them and return to the Champions League.
“I am very happy in Madrid, a city, a climate and a club that I love,” said Bale told Dubai TV a fortnight ago (via the Independent). “My contract ends in 2019, and I could sign a renewal. It has been a fantastic year for me. I wanted to come to Real Madrid to win titles and work alongside the best players and that is exactly what I have done in a single year.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2329389-inside-line-manchester-united-might-want-gareth-bale-but-they-wont-get-him
No comments:
Post a Comment