Manchester, England – E be like say dem don sort out di wahala wey dey ground for Manchester United. Fans dey wonder how di club fit sign big striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig as di financial gist no dey sweet for mouth. Dem don dey see news about staff wey dey lose work and all di free lunches wey don comot, yet dem dey plan £200 million revamp for dem attack next season. Na wah!
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire don talk say, “If Manchester United sneeze, football go catch cold.” Dis one no be small talk oh! E still add say di club na di biggest brand for English football. People dey panic about di redundancies, but na wetin Ineos, di company wey dey manage United, dey do for oda businesses. E be like say dis style go fit work for football, but we go wait see wetin go happen next.
Sources from di club don tell Simon Stone, chief football news reporter for di BBC, say dem fit handle di transfer of Sesko even after Sir Jim Ratcliffe tok say di club fit face cash wahala before Christmas if dem no cut cost seriously.
To manage di payments, dem don agree on payment plans totalling £130 million for di signings of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo from Wolves and Brentford. Dem dey arrange di payment to spread over di player contracts, so e no go dey heavy for dem wallet. Na so dem dey plan to handle Sesko deal too.
Plus, all di £325,000 a week wey Marcus Rashford dey collect go dey covered by im loan move to Barcelona. Dem even collect £5 million from Chelsea when di Blues japa from di Sancho deal. E get one palaver too, Manchester United don collect over £15 million under sell-on clauses for other players like Anthony Elanga, Alvaro Carreras, and Maxi Oyedele. Dem sef sell Mason Greenwood and Scott McTominay, and dey plan to sell more unwanted pleyers like Alejandro Garnacho before di window sha close.
Maguire point out say even if di transfer signings come to £200 million, na £40 million a year, and dem fit recover am back by selling players wey dey ‘bomb squad’ wey nobody wan carry. No thanks to di Europa League final wey dem reach, despite wetin happen for di pitch last season. Dem still dey shine like diamond for commercial activities.
United’s financial forecast for di coming year don hit di mark of £180 million-£190 million core profit, which be beta news compared to di earlier gossip of just £145 million-£160 million. Di bid to bring Sesko fit rise to £73.8 million, but dem go guarantee £65.2 million payment. If dis na di price wey dem go pay, na £180 million dem go spend for dis summer transfer window, after Liverpool and Chelsea.
Maguire don clear am say some of di panic wey dey happen before no make sense, “Man Utd no dey as successful as dem go like to, but dey still dey alright. Dem wage bill dey around half of dia income, which remain good for Premier League standard.” Dis one na after di wahala wey Ratcliffe don talk say dem almost run out of cash dis year. He say change dey come, and e get as e dey feel for di fans amid di turbulence.
“If you dey spend more than wetin you dey earn, e go lead to wahala,” he conclude. But di good news, e also tok say dem wan spend money for players dis transfer window. Wetin e mean be say dem go prefer invest for beta players rather than spend on free lunches because nobody wan chop di money, na bola wey dem dey after!
Of course, no be all things dey bright for Old Trafford. If Sesko sign, manager Ruben Amorim go need to sell more pleyers to balance di squad. Despite di big talk about money, di club still dey carry di load of debts, and di financial stability no still dey show well-well. But one thing wey dey sure be say dem still dey run things well, with di largest stadium for di league and high commercial revenue wey don make dem remain one of di most attractive brands for di football world.
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