Manchester United are the ultimate commercially driven club.
The Red Devils are at the very top of the commercialisation chain of football clubs in the Premier League. No other club has leveraged their name, history, tradition and winning pedigree as effectively as United.
They are famously the only club in Britain with an ‘official global noodle partner’ among their dozens of commercial hook-ups.
Some view this as naked capitalism ruining a once pure game. Others are happy enough as long as it means the club can afford a Paul Pogba or two every year.
But United have now proved that they are not just all about the money.
Earlier this year, Manchester United’s pre-season friendly match in Beijing with rivals Manchester City was cancelled because of torrential rain.
All United fans who bought tickets through the club were given a full refund – but what about the money fans spent on travelling to the game?
The club explained in an email this week that they are under no obligation to provide any recompense for this – but what they are doing is giving out tickets for the Europa Cup match against Feyenoord, as well as a free United shirt.
Fair play @ManUtd 👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/8i7OPcYEFo
— Jonny Pennington (@heresjonnyp) September 29, 2016
Nice touch.
Now, the cynics among you might point out that with millions upon millions rolling into the Old Trafford coffers from TV deals, sponsorship and noodle sales, a few shirts and some match tickets aren’t exactly going to break the bank.
But it is exactly as it should be – it won’t cost the club a huge amount, but it will mean a lot to the individual supporters on the receiving end. So we say: bravo, United. Bravo.
