Reporter Han Bing reported on the fragility and lack of morale of the Red Devils players at the Manchester City derby, which attracted widespread criticism, and the media and public opinion quickly targeted the clubs that only wanted to make profits. Previously, Manchester United's official Twitter account profile, which actually released a link to the sale of home jerseys, many fans believe that the club is more concerned about shirt sales than winning trophies. Ironically, Twitter accounts for Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are all about the team's recent matches and anti-racist fair play values. United are overly interested in developing global brand influence and economic benefits, while their team is overwhelmed and frustrating on the pitch.
Manchester United's social platform team can not modify the page profile twice, but it still cannot calm the fierce criticism brought about by the Manchester Derby fiasco. Fans believe that the Manchester United management team is just afraid of the power of the fans, worried that the revenue of peripheral products will decline due to the dissatisfaction of fans. Neville criticised United's fiasco as a complete failure of 10 years of club management and strategic development, arguing that it had caused the Red Devils to lose their Ferguson-era title DNA. And making commercial revenue rather than competitive success the club's primary concern has not had an effect.
The just-released Q4 2021 club earnings report shows that the Red Devils' debt has risen to £494 million, and salary expenses have reached £97.7 million in the same period, which means that the salary expenditure for the whole season is approaching £400 million! While United's revenue has grown and it has also achieved a profit of £5.4 million, it has plunged almost 90% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 (£48.5 million). Not only were the Red Devils crushed by their rival Manchester City on the pitch, but they were also overtaken by their opponents in terms of operation. In the 2020/21 season, City's revenue (€644 million) surpassed Manchester United's (€557 million) for the first time.
After the defeat, Manchester United only have champions league titles to compete for this season, but everyone knows that next season's Champions League qualification is the most deadly. If United miss out on next season's Champions League, both sponsorship revenue and player salaries will be cut by at least 20 percent, and United have suffered three such blows since Ferguson's departure. The decline in sponsorship income and the reduction in player salaries will inevitably lead to the fluctuation of the team's popularity, while the Greszer family has not lost, and can still get huge dividends from the club, and the cost of buying players will be recorded in the debt under the club's name.
United will struggle to afford another missed Champions League, which would mean at least €60 million in Lost Champions League prizes and revenue from the broadcast pool, while also reducing the Red Devils' commercial value. In sharp contrast, rivals Manchester City or Liverpool, whoever wins the Premier League title, will receive generous prize money from sponsors and broadcasters and receive higher brand value. Neville fiercely criticized Manchester United's "lost decade" and is afraid that it will continue.