Manchester United is one of the biggest and most widely supported sports teams in the world, regularly ranking among the most valuable football clubs globally.
As a United fan, I would have loved it if you dive more into how the Glazers have been gutting this club by taking money out instead of reinvesting in the stadium and training facilities.
With Jeff Amazon buying Liverpool. One could hope that some American billionaire would come and rescue United from the Glazers.
Love that you appreciate the reference! I just rewatched the GameStop doco on Netflix, got reminded of the reference and thought it was hilarious!
Under the investor lens, I think United has been a basket case of destroying value by not reinvesting in what matters and poor capital allocation.
SJR has been a lot better because he has been putting money in instead of paying dividends like the Glazers. But I am not sure I like some of the decisions the club made under him. Cutting staff, travel,… Also, despite Carrick seems to be doing okay, I didn’t like how they fire Amorim. I think best case scenario is that we get some Saudi money like City, where they just pour money in. But with the Iran war now, it is unlikely.
I’m stoked to see a United fan/quality investors. Would love to connect with you!
I’m a United fan too, and I absolutely hate what the Glazers have done to this club. I actually discussed what they did in Section 5, without outrightly slamming them, as I wanted to be as unbiased and nuanced as possible, looking at it from an investor lens, not a fan perspective.
I would be wary of another American billionaire coming in, as I doubt they would have the same passion for the club, and are likely in it for the money and fame. I think the best bet would be SJR buying the entire club.
from one united fan to another, great work on this! would actually love to see you doing some back of the envelope LBO on a potential deal - could be an interesting time to dive into it especially with increasing number of deals among sports clubs. mentioning how shambolic the club has been in their transfer windows would've been great, especially how EtH destroyed the depth of our academy players. also, one thing i will have to disagree on is the 4 signings were great, but they weren't exactly marquee players. the reason for our success and 3rd place finish can be largely attributed to Carrick's takeover and next season's success will be on him as well (which drives the commercial value of the club).
Thank you for the kind words! It would be interesting to do an LBO model on it, I might do a follow-up, along with, as you mentioned, the shambolic mis-management of football-related decisions. I left those out as I thought it might put off readers who are less interested in those details and who might find it dry. After all, this substack is more focused on investing in general.
Happy to connect with you through DMs! Hit me up :)
I must say, if I am going to read 40+ minutes of a breakdown into a company, I would prefer to read about Arsenal but when the level of content is this high, I'll have to read it anyways.
Thanks for doing the research into this fascinating niche.
Excellent deep dive.
As a United fan, I would have loved it if you dive more into how the Glazers have been gutting this club by taking money out instead of reinvesting in the stadium and training facilities.
With Jeff Amazon buying Liverpool. One could hope that some American billionaire would come and rescue United from the Glazers.
I forgot to say thank you for the compliment and happy to see a fellow fan/investor! :)
P.S. I like how you reference Jeff Bezos and Jeff Amazon ala Tim Apple
Love that you appreciate the reference! I just rewatched the GameStop doco on Netflix, got reminded of the reference and thought it was hilarious!
Under the investor lens, I think United has been a basket case of destroying value by not reinvesting in what matters and poor capital allocation.
SJR has been a lot better because he has been putting money in instead of paying dividends like the Glazers. But I am not sure I like some of the decisions the club made under him. Cutting staff, travel,… Also, despite Carrick seems to be doing okay, I didn’t like how they fire Amorim. I think best case scenario is that we get some Saudi money like City, where they just pour money in. But with the Iran war now, it is unlikely.
I’m stoked to see a United fan/quality investors. Would love to connect with you!
I’m a United fan too, and I absolutely hate what the Glazers have done to this club. I actually discussed what they did in Section 5, without outrightly slamming them, as I wanted to be as unbiased and nuanced as possible, looking at it from an investor lens, not a fan perspective.
I would be wary of another American billionaire coming in, as I doubt they would have the same passion for the club, and are likely in it for the money and fame. I think the best bet would be SJR buying the entire club.
from one united fan to another, great work on this! would actually love to see you doing some back of the envelope LBO on a potential deal - could be an interesting time to dive into it especially with increasing number of deals among sports clubs. mentioning how shambolic the club has been in their transfer windows would've been great, especially how EtH destroyed the depth of our academy players. also, one thing i will have to disagree on is the 4 signings were great, but they weren't exactly marquee players. the reason for our success and 3rd place finish can be largely attributed to Carrick's takeover and next season's success will be on him as well (which drives the commercial value of the club).
Thank you for the kind words! It would be interesting to do an LBO model on it, I might do a follow-up, along with, as you mentioned, the shambolic mis-management of football-related decisions. I left those out as I thought it might put off readers who are less interested in those details and who might find it dry. After all, this substack is more focused on investing in general.
Happy to connect with you through DMs! Hit me up :)
would like to connect though, think we will have a good discussion on Man Utd and football in general
I must say, if I am going to read 40+ minutes of a breakdown into a company, I would prefer to read about Arsenal but when the level of content is this high, I'll have to read it anyways.
Thanks for doing the research into this fascinating niche.