A Giant English Club.
An Italian Champion.
One Super Agent.
World Record Transfer Fee and
One young player coming back to his old club.
Paul Labile Pogba’s transfer to Manchester United has every ingredient for being THE most talked about transfer in football’s recent history. A player coming back to his boyhood club is nothing new. But the stakes here are much higher.
This will be the second stint for the Frenchman at the red half of Manchester. He joined the youth academy of the club in 2009 when he was 15 years old. He left the club in 2012, frustrated due to the lack of first team football, and joined the Turin-based club Juventus. In his four years at the reigning Serie A champions, the 22-year old became a mainstay in the first team and helped Juve win 4 consecutive league titles and guided them to the final of 2015 UEFA Champions League.
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The Frenchman has rejoined United again. But his transfer is just a part of the bigger chain of events happening at the Old Trafford, set off by the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
The United Brand
Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs since the inception of the Premier League, United have won trophies at will. In the last two decades or so, United became a force to be reckoned with, in both England and Europe.
But not everything in football is only about football these days.
United won the historic ‘Treble’ in 1999, which immensely increased their popularity on a global scale. United’s continued domestic and European success has made them more than “just a football club”. United were the first football brand to market themselves abroad and they have reaped the benefits of this ever since. Their exceptional marketing and investment strategies have made Manchester United one of the richest football clubs.
Now, United are the third most valued football club in the world and the most valued English club. Last year, they signed a deal worth a whopping £750 million over ten years with kit manufacturer Adidas, a world record again. They now have a sponsor for everything. It’s viewed as a “money making machine’ by many businesses and brands.
The list of the sponsors and partners include some big global brands such as Adidas, Chevrolet, Aon, Tag Heuer, DHL and 20th Century Fox. Yes, A film studio too. All these sponsors have made United cash rich.
The Storm and The Aftermath
All of this was going perfectly fine. United were winning trophies. They played attractive, attacking football. Fans were happy. The investors and sponsors couldn’t ask for more.
Until one afternoon in May 2013 when it was announced that Sir Alex will be retiring.
Since his retirement, things have looked shaky. United could not mount a title challenge in the last 3 years. David Moyes was sacked in just 10 months after a disappointing campaign. Louis Van Gaal tried to steady the ship but he failed to even qualify for the Champions league in his second season and was shown the door.
United went from one manager in 26 years to three managers in three years.
This does not go well with United’s history of being a club which gives managers time to settle in. “Managers get given time – Ron Atkinson gets given time, Dave Sexton gets given time. Sir Alex Ferguson got given two to three years and now people turn around and say that’s 25 years ago, well alright, what’s changed? Are we saying managers can’t get given time now”- Gary Neville after David Moyes was sacked.
The “Given Time” is out and “Sack.Hire.Sack.” is in. Instead of finding a long term solution, managers are shuffled after one or two seasons. Now, it’s Jose Mourinho’s turn. History shows the Portuguese manager prefers short stints and we shouldn’t be surprised if Jose isn’t at Old Trafford 3 years down the line.
A huge amount of cash has been splashed since 2013, but the results aren’t too convincing. Angel Di Maria, who was a record signing, failed to adapt to the Premier League and was sold to Paris Saint-Germain at a lower price. It was reported that United made a £22.5 million loss by this sale because the Euro was weak compared to the Pound. Memphis Depay has failed to live up the expectations that came with his price tag.
United has one of the best youth academy in Football. From “Busby Babes” to “Class of ‘92”, youth talent was always given a chance to prove themselves. Ferguson turned the duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney from young wonder kids to proven match winners. It’s ironic that now the hierarchy at Old Trafford just bought a former youth team player for a record transfer fee. Rumours are also flying around that Mourinho is ready to offload many young players from the club.
There’s continuous pressure on the club to go back to its winning ways. The fans and the media these days have become more demanding than ever. The players and the manager are in the constant state of scrutiny. Managers are sacked after one bad season. Short term success is preferred instead of setting long-term goals. Players are being bought for insane amounts instead of promoting young talent.
Pogba’s transfer is a symbolic representation of the changes in the club’s philosophy for last 3 years.
Maybe Pogba will succeed at Old Trafford. Maybe United will win the title this season. Maybe Mourinho will stay for more than 3 years. Maybe United will win trophies at will again.
But it would be a completely different Manchester United.
