Only time will tell if Alexis Sanchez will be successful at Old Trafford, and chances are he probably will.
Sanchez is a brilliant footballer at the peak of his powers, and although he has only played three games for the club so far, he already appears to be the team’s talisman. It was notable during United’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town last Saturday that Sanchez’s teammates were constantly looking for him when in possession. The Chilean scored the rebound from his missed penalty, and should play a big role for the rest of the season.
The club’s executive vice-chairman is happy with his impact so far. Off the pitch anyway. Ed Woodward spoke to investors during a conference call to discuss United’s accounts for the final three months of 2017, and he focused on the club’s social media activity when Sanchez’s transfer from Arsenal was confirmed – which won’t surprise any United fans.
“The announcement posts generated 75 percent more interactions than the announcement of the sale of the world’s most expensive player last summer, when Neymar moved from Barcelona to PSG,” Woodward said.
How football clubs now assess impact of transfers.
Man United vice chair Ed Woodward tells investors Sanchez transfer in January led to club's most shared post on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook – and 75% more interactions online than Neymar's world-record move to PSG last year— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) February 8, 2018
Of course, this isn’t the first time United have boasted about impressive social media numbers. As Ken Early noted in The Irish Times, Richard Arnold, the club’s MD, once told a conference in Dublin that United had “recently surpassed the social media following of Vin Diesel and were closing on Rihanna.” Sanchez’s announcement was United’s biggest ever Instagram post, receiving over two million likes and comments. His announcement post on Facebook was also the club’s most shared post ever, and #Alexis7 was the number one trending topic worldwide on Twitter.
Arsene Wenger once said finishing fourth in the Premier League was like winning a trophy. Woodward would probably say something similar about the club’s social media success following Sanchez’s transfer.
Woodward had more good news for investors – Jesse Lingard’s “takeover” of United’s Instagram page was generated over 40 million impressions.
Ed Woodward: "Manchester United are the most engaged football club on Twitter. Jesse Lingard’s takeover on Instagram generated over 40m impressions." #MUFC
— Devils Latest (@Devils_Latest) February 8, 2018
It’s easy to mock Woodward for focusing on these figures, and it does seem peculiar to hear a club’s chairman focus on, what seem to be, such trivial details. Does anyone really care that Jesse Lingard’s “takeover” of United’s Instagram was a success? However, the figures also show how popular United are worldwide.
Either way, United fans won’t care as long as players of the quality of Sanchez arrive at Old Trafford, even if it is strange, but unsurprising, to hear Woodward speak about the club as though it’s a TV show.
