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Manchester United are facing real financial hardships, affecting the club both on and off the pitch.
The club spent £600 million in transfers under Erik ten Hag, with little return for it. United are 12th in both the Premier and Europa Leagues.
Meanwhile, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is doing whatever he can to cut costs at the club, including making some controversial decisions.
So far, the INEOS owner has removed Sir Alex Ferguson from his multi-million-pound role as the club’s global ambassador, halved the funding to the Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association and removed concessions on ticket prices for children and the over 65s.
The club has already confirmed that Ruben Amorim will have a limited budget to work with going forward. United want their new manager to focus on harnessing the potential already in the squad or utilising free transfers over big-money signings.
The only real way that Amorim can increase his budget is by making some big sales to bring the money in.
Over the last few years, players like Antony and Harry Maguire for £80 million a piece, with the club not likely to recoup even half of that.
However, The Athletic have now reported that United are looking at building connections abroad to form some pathways to routine sales.
The report explains that United are linking with connections in Saudi Arabia to see if they can develop a market to sell to.
However, the Premier League side may have missed the boat, with the spending from Saudi clubs declining since summer 2023.
This summer saw several rumours circling of Saudi clubs wanting to sign the likes of Casemiro, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho. However, nothing materialised.
Making connections with Saudi could be a really strong move for United to sell their unwanted stars, but also with the growing industry and business opportunities there that are already tapping into global football.
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