Even after a generation in the wilderness, Manchester United remain one of the world’s most attractive and monetizable brands.
The Red Devils had no European football of any description in 2025-26 and yet are still projected to announce revenues of between £655m and £665m for the season later this year. If the final figure is towards the top end of that range, it will be only £1m or so short of their club record.
Meanwhile, commercial income – which is the best proxy to assess a club’s brand strength – is likely to remain steady at £333m. Only a handful of clubs worldwide can match that, and that is after several years of sponsorship and retail stagnation at Old Trafford.
Now that Michael Carrick has got them back into the Champions League, Manchester United have a springboard to get on top of their costs and build in a financially sustainable manner.
With huge financial debts and transfer instalments due, it will not be easy. But United’s global appeal and the over 1 billion followers they regularly claim to have worldwide mean they are well placed to capitalise.
It is the remarkable strength of the club’s brand which meant FIFA were disappointed that United did not qualify for the revamped Club World Cup in the summer of 2025.
In truth, they were never close to making the cut. In the end, England was represented by Manchester City and eventual world champions Chelsea at the expanded tournament, where total prize money was $1bn.
Now, taking inspiration from the new format of this summer’s international World Cup, FIFA are said to be close to inviting 16 more teams to the next edition of the Club World Cup in 2029, per The Guardian’s Matt Hughes.
All of the so-called ‘Big Six’ are in favour of the expanded Club World Cup. Under the current 32-team model, only two teams from a single country are allowed to qualify, but FIFA is considering lifting that cap in time for the next tournament.
Significantly, they are now backed by a formal agreement between themselves and the European Football Clubs (EFC) organisation, which acts as the main lobbying group for the continent’s elite teams. Jean Claude Blanc, Man United’s head of international football relations, sits on the EFC board.
“There was no Barcelona, no Man United and so on in 2025,” says football finance expert Professor Kieran Maguire in exclusive conversation with HITC, “and FIFA were frustrated because that meant there was less interest in the competition.
“It will help the sales pitch if they have 48 teams in the Club World Cup and I expect that to raise revenues.
“The rather unusual relationship between Saudi Arabia and FIFA came to the Club World in 2025, because the Saudi-backed TV deal funded the prize money for the tournament.
“It is ludicrous that the winners of the Club World Cup get about twice what the winners of the FIFA World Cup are going to get. But this is the new world order.”
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