So no new contract for Phil Jones?
Club Sale | It’s done!
- Thread starter JB08
- Start date
- Status
So no new contract for Phil Jones?
Didn’t Sky try to buy United expressly to manipulate TV rights by using their ownership of the biggest club as a battering ram?
Apple, or any other producing company, just does not make sense and they surely dont need a sports club to remain successful. Plus, it would be an investment where they and especially the shareholders want to see a return. And that is not what the club needs
Sounds legit if they’re thinking of bidding more than the asking price
They didn't "need" the MLS either. There's lots of things they don't need.
That's such a vague generality, it'd be helpful if you could be more specific. What specifically are you talking about that would advance Apple interests?
Uhh are people forgetting that Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, City fans etc all hate us and a fair chunk of them buy iPhones too... 
Realistically, the amount required to throw at United, when you consider a week’s turnover could buy the club for £6b, AFTER the purchase would be small change for the company. Especially if United became self-sustaining once again.
Nobody knows what Murdoch’s intentions were (they won’t have been good) but what you are describing is the reason why the acquisition was blocked.
Straight out the bat, hundreds of millions of fans across the world with their eyes on the club. And hundreds of millions of haters who can't help but read up on the club.
It's a sporting institution, and for a company with vested interest in things like fitness watches, there's massive potential for expanding their image.
Only if you have the latest iPhone. Old iPhones slow down and give you a dodgy signal. Android can't get a signal.
That would be a conflict. If they decide to buy us, they’d be forgoing PL tv rights.
However, there’s a reasonable future in the next 7-10 years where PL rights could be more fragmented. Such as United matches being shown exclusively on Apple+.
What about the fans of the football club they are set to own?
Liverpool has been up for sale for 2 weeks with zero real buzz. Chelsea pushed a quick sale and went cheap. United hits the market and it's a frenzy. This demonstrates the importance of brand and that this team is as good as it gets in that respect.
It will make fans of those other teams hate us more when this club sells for 2x or more what that silly girl Chelsea went for. And when we clear the annual top option off the market they'll hate us even more. This is going to be a great new era.
It will make fans of those other teams hate us more when this club sells for 2x or more what that silly girl Chelsea went for. And when we clear the annual top option off the market they'll hate us even more. This is going to be a great new era.
While I agree that Apple would probably rather invest in a smaller tech company, I think it's also fair to say that the business profile of United would be very interesting, even if part of an larger group of co-owners. I'd say the prospects of marketing (shirt sponsor on east-asia tours), TV deals (like NFL's Hard Knocks, starting with United) etc would be of some interest to them. It does sound a bit silly, but it's not a stretch of the imagination to think they might be interested.
Yeah just don't believe they are interested
I'm sure they will respect our traditions and agree to that.
We should have a tweets only thread like we do in the transfer forum but only for updates on the club being sold.
Sure they don’t “need” a sports club like United to be successful. They’ll be successful regardless. But considering their proven interest in sports and United’s global reach, the opportunities are limitless. More importantly it’s not a huge expenditure for them at all considering their cash reserves.
I suspect Apple has some truth to it. They have a platform for streaming and adding a top brand of international football to it would be extremely valuable.
Only drawback is we might see an annual behind the scenes type of program about the team. Well I don't see that as a drawback but I know many here will. And ten Hag will probably hate it.
Only drawback is we might see an annual behind the scenes type of program about the team. Well I don't see that as a drawback but I know many here will. And ten Hag will probably hate it.
I know but I don’t see them spending how oil states tend to. It just doesn’t make much sense for Apple to buy us.
Oh yeah there is a massive buzz alright
This how I am thinking about it too. Fascinating to watch it unfold.
This is going to be a day to day rollercoaster for a few months isnt?
We'd look great with the Apple logo on our shirts
I'm high on rumors and three cups of coffee right now what can I say.
Up early to watch Portugal feed the ball to Penaldo and hope he chokes while I root for Bruno.
The problem I have is apple is naturally focused solely on profit generation. It would take a very long time for them to make a return on a £6bn investment in buying us and then investing in the stadium and training ground which need major investment. I just think they can make significantly more returns by continuing with their current business model of investing at seed or early stages in tech companies.
The only reason it would make sense for them to buy us is purely for the brand and exposure. But at this point, do Apple really need the Utd brand for exposure? It could be argued apple are known more than Utd around the world!
Football is the most popular sports in the world and Manchester United is the biggest brand name in it. Clubs that might compete with us for that podium are simply not available (Real and Barca). If anyone want to enter in this industry then the Bentley version of football is on sale. I also think that football is still in the stone hedge level technological wise. For example why should the average joe be bound to multiple subscriptions that often allow him to watch a limited number of games of his favourite club and which is restricted to one country alone? Why can't I just buy the Manchester United game ticket and watch it life on whatever platform (Laptop, TV, Ipad etc) were I want being Malta, the UK or any country with Internet? Most of us can't give a feck about watching Burnley vs Crystal Palace or Everton vs Nottingham Forest. Why should I pay for those games? Now imagine if ties such subscription to Apple TV. FFS the sales would sky rocket
That's something a juggernaut like Apple could go in and challenge. Apple/Microsoft + Manchester United could go toe to toe against anyone if they want to including the British Government (let alone the FA)
That's something a juggernaut like Apple could go in and challenge. Apple/Microsoft + Manchester United could go toe to toe against anyone if they want to including the British Government (let alone the FA)
These are just more generalities. Yes there's lots of United fans, but they could appeal to them just by sponsoring the shirt. You don't need to own the club to be associated with it. What does benefit does outright ownership offer?
Given the regulatory complexity that a major sports TV streamer buying a club outright would bring, it would have to be pretty compelling.
Sigh
When did I say states should be allowed to run football teams? I’ve very definitively said the exact opposite countless times in this thread.
Try again.
Would having the biggest club in the world in your portfolio, one that generates so much money that they can spend their own not be sensational business? All they would be doing then is acquiring an asset, building a stadium that could partially be paid off with naming rights etc.
It’s a strange one, we have never seen a club the size of United on the market before, who knows what these companies see in its potential
Although I would tend to agree, how would you explain their 2.5B expenditure on MLS tv rights in the USA?
You really think they made that deal with profit at the forefront of their thinking? Not likely considering MLS viewership pales in comparison to other big 4 leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL).
Sometimes Apple thinks big picture. Buying United would fall under that prism.
Amazon are more likely than Apple.
hell yeah we are
Well Apple invested in a 10 year, $2.5 billion deal with the MLS in their biggest venture into football thus far. This off the back of a $85m deal with MLB in the US. They are also currently in negotiation for some NFL games.
The suggested point of all this being that they see sport as an acquistion tool for Apple TV, which in turn is used as a way to get more people to buy apple products and invest in the Apple "ecosystem". And the suggestion is that this the start of a heavy shift into sport and sport broadcasting, particularly off the back of them declining to become involved in opportunities to invest more in the film industry.
So, speculating, let's accept that they have an over-arching plan to become more and more involved in and associated with sport and sport broadcasting, spending billions to do so. Presumably there is some merit in acquiring one of the biggest sports brands on the planet to help drive that shift? Aside from the content they could mine from the club itself, Manchester United would be the flagship for Apple as an entity in the sports world. They would own a shortcut to (according to the Glazers' statement) 1.1 billion sports fans across the planet.
Last edited:
Stop drinking and stop being on the dark web for a while. Try to see the sun and get some air
While I don't think Apple buying is as outlandish as people are suggesting, I don't think it would happen.
Apple are filthy rich and cash rich, they can buy us outright. Sports is an industry that will definitely attract the Amazons and Apples and both of those have long entered the streaming market with their own platforms.
The key thing to getting a streaming platform to be successful is content and that's why all of these companies are doing their own exclusive shows, spending crazy amounts on it (Amazon committed $1bn to the Lord of the Rings show, whatever your opinion of the show) and losing stupid money in the process quite often (the Disney CEO got canned because Disney+ lost $1.5bn in a year or something).
Sports and United, especially, is ready-made content where you don't hire expensive actors, just footballers whose wages can be comfortably covered by our own revenues.
If you're looking to boost your TV division, I would definitely consider the most marketable club in the world that's on offer (Real Madrid and Barca are not).
Apple are filthy rich and cash rich, they can buy us outright. Sports is an industry that will definitely attract the Amazons and Apples and both of those have long entered the streaming market with their own platforms.
The key thing to getting a streaming platform to be successful is content and that's why all of these companies are doing their own exclusive shows, spending crazy amounts on it (Amazon committed $1bn to the Lord of the Rings show, whatever your opinion of the show) and losing stupid money in the process quite often (the Disney CEO got canned because Disney+ lost $1.5bn in a year or something).
Sports and United, especially, is ready-made content where you don't hire expensive actors, just footballers whose wages can be comfortably covered by our own revenues.
If you're looking to boost your TV division, I would definitely consider the most marketable club in the world that's on offer (Real Madrid and Barca are not).
Shit
- Status