Man Utd Co-Owner Sparks Fury by Boldly Comparing Club to Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees

Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer has reportedly told investors that the club can sustain its commercial revenue independently of on-pitch performance, a statement that lays bare just how little motivation exists to reverse the club's alarming decline.

United remain one of the most valuable football clubs on the planet and sit among the wealthiest sports franchises across all disciplines, despite enduring more than a decade of sustained sporting misery. Since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson hung up his coat in 2013, England's most decorated Premier League side have not come close to a title challenge, let alone added to their trophy cabinet.

Having cycled through seven managers over 13 years, current boss Michael Carrick has been walking a tightrope regarding his own future. The fact that his position may have been spared by a single chaotic Champions League turnaround—owed as much to Roma's failings as to any United resurgence—speaks volumes about the rudderless direction the club has taken since Ferguson's departure.

The Glazer family, who secured a majority ownership of the club through a deeply contentious leveraged buyout in 2005, have long been vilified by supporters who accuse them of treating United as little more than a cash cow. Former defender Paul Parker memorably described his former club as "the highest-profile ATM machine in world football."

That image has only been reinforced by Avram Glazer's remarks to a room of investors at Deutsche Bank's inaugural Sports Investment Conference, where he insisted United "are not dependent on success on the pitch for commercial power," as reported by The Athletic.

Glazer is said to have drawn comparisons between United and the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and MLB giants the New York Yankees. Both franchises share United's illustrious historical pedigree while struggling to add to their modern trophy hauls. The Yankees last lifted the World Series 17 years ago, which seems recent when set against the Cowboys' Super Bowl drought stretching back to 1995.

In support of Glazer's argument, both the Cowboys and the Yankees are ranked by Forbes as the most valuable franchises in their respective sports despite their recent struggles. Manchester United trail only Real Madrid by the same measure within football. However, the picture is far more complicated than that.

Why Avram Glazer Is Wrong

Avram Glazer is no stranger to provoking the fury of Manchester United supporters. The first time he and his brother Joel appeared at Old Trafford following their father Malcolm's completion of the takeover in 2005, they were greeted by chants of "Die, Glazers, die!" from the home faithful.

Yet on this occasion, the polarising co-owner has managed to be both inflammatory and factually mistaken.

Glazer's remarks echo a sentiment expressed by United's former blundering executive Ed Woodward, who notoriously told a shareholder: "Playing performance doesn't really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business."

That was back in 2018 and, given the club's financial figures at the time, it carried a degree of credibility. All the sporting acumen that departed with Ferguson and his trusted boardroom ally David Gill was replaced by Woodward's remarkable talent for securing commercial partnerships. While United struggled to identify a reliable striker or a commanding defensive midfielder under Woodward's watch, they did manage to land an exclusive pillow and mattress partner.

Between Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and Woodward's comments five years later, United's annual commercial revenue had surged from roughly $240 million to $360 million. At that stage, the club comfortably outpaced the rest of the Premier League in off-field earnings despite spending more seasons outside the top four than within it. The underlying decay, however, had already taken hold.

United's commercial revenue peaked at a world-leading €364 million ($407 million at current rates) in 2016, according to Deloitte. Their 2025 accounts show the Red Devils recorded €397 million ($444 million), now trailing Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and — with an asterisk — Manchester City.

While the club still stands as one of football's most formidable commercial operations, Glazer has overlooked the inconvenient truth that United's dismal on-field results have allowed rivals to close the gap — or overtake them entirely.

Over the decade since 2016, United's revenue has grown by just 9%. Arsenal and Liverpool, by contrast, have leveraged their improving fortunes on the pitch to more than double their commercial earnings. Over the same period, Tottenham Hotspur's income has surged by an extraordinary 323%.

Premier League Commercial Revenue Growth Since 2016

United have squandered a prime opportunity to forge even more lucrative commercial deals than they already have. Perhaps if the Glazers are confronted with this stark reality, their position may finally begin to change.