Manchester United Football Club - biggest club in the world?!

Our meltdowns are world class and our fall has been spectatcular. Not sure what the metric is that we are leading to be the 'biggest club'.

Not that it matters. We should be striving for success all the time. The rest will follow. Currently, far away from behaving or playing like a big club.
 
Cassidy said:
Madrid were already bigger and thats why Ronaldo went there. I don’t think him staying would have changed that to be honest
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They were certainly bigger at the time (as a club, not as a side) but they've grown a lot on that Messi-Ronaldo thing, just like Barcelona did. If we were to remain Barcelona's biggest competitor for a decade, having Cristiano in our side, who knows how that could've changed things. It didn't happen though, so it's just a thought exercise.
 
Real Madrid, Barca then right now maybe Liverpool ahead of us? I am not sure we have more fans than them anymore.
 
We currently have the highest fan base worldwide, but if we dont start winning trophies this will start declining, if not already. Apart from that were nowhere near the biggest club in the world by any other category.
 
Never was the biggest, not even during SAF's era.
It's just a PR stunt by the club that got to your heads.
 
Dick measuring contest.
I just want us to be competitive on the pitch and competently ran off it.
 
Nero said:
The self-loathers are gonna run riot.
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Red_toad said:
Feckin tedious toxic people just love to moan. Yet another thread for them to vent. Roll on the 3 new players signed up before the pre season tour.
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The feck? I'm not seeing any of that in here. Don't let that ruin your narrative though.
 
golden_blunder said:
What does the biggest club in the world even mean? A dick measuring contest
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When we buy a player and you go on youtube to watch the first interview on MUTV they must get the player to come out with 'biggest club in the world' diktat.
 
To be fair, most of us knew this would happen when fergie left. What we didn't know was how long it could last for. Our stature has dropped alot since 2013. There can be no doubt. Madrid have been the daddies since the 60s really.

We should have rebuilt like Liverpool did under klopp. We didn't , and here we are.
 
I'd say we were from 99 to 09.

We're not even in the discussion currently.
 
Doesn’t really matter how big the club is, rather who owns it (or which country more precisely)
 
If you want to break it down by metrics :

We have the most league titles in the most followed league in the world.

We only have 3 CL titles.

In terms of fan following we easily have the biggest fan following in Africa and tussle with Pool for the highest in Asia. Real Madrid dominate the Americas.

We have had 2 of the most iconic names of the last 30 years play for us ( Ronaldo and Beckham). Easily the most famous manager of the last 3 decades manage us and bonafide global superstars like Rooney be the face of the club. Certainly in the PL, it puts us in a different stratosphere in terms of brand exposure and popularity.

Having lived in 4 different countries in Europe and spoken to numerous people on this topic whenever you mention the biggest English clubs it's always us and the scum.

Barca before Messi were never really a global elite club and even now there popularity in terms of fanbase doesn't rival Utd or Liverpool. Bayern and the Italian clubs also don't really compete with us in that category.

So in conclusion, I'd say Real Madrid are the biggest, but then you could argue for one of us or Liverpool being the second biggest depending on who's having the most on field success during that era.
 
Depends what you measure the "size" of a club by. Fanbase? No, that's probably Real Madrid and Barcelona, due to the size of the Spanish-speaking world and its love of football. Wealth? Not anymore, although we're not so far behind in terms of club value. Sporting success? No, especially not these days, nor historically--other clubs have more trophies. But if you measure the size of a club by how much the world cares about it, I think you can definitely argue that United qualifies as potentially the biggest. There's a reason why, whenever football journalists have nothing else to write about, they just make up some shit about United. There's a reason we have so many rivalries. There's a reason ABU is a thing. Anything to do with United gets far more attention than similar stuff about any other club. The people who make a living writing about football know that Man Utd is the club that makes them the most money.

In terms of how much space we occupy on the global football map, I don't think anyone is bigger, even after a decade without meaningful success. Any news about United gets more views than an identical story about any other club would. Does that make it the biggest club in the world? I think there's a reasonable argument for that. If a decade of total failure doesn't get the world to care any less about us, why would footballing success be a stronger measurement of a club's size? If state-owned clubs with literally unlimited funds aren't automatically the media's utter center of attention, why would wealth be more important? I would wager that if you polled every person on Earth about the first football club that comes to mind, Manchester United would be the one that topped that chart. I think that makes it perfectly valid to say that it's the biggest club in the world.

It says a lot that despite being shit for a decade, we still get far more sponsorships than anyone else (not counting City's fraudulent make-believe ones). We are the most marketable club, the most famous and attention-getting one, and (annoyingly) the club that most boosts a player's platform on social media. To my knowledge, we're the club with the most knighthoods. Outside of South America, we are the most supported foreign club in the world, even despite the fact that football isn't a particularly prominent sport in most of the English-speaking world. When a movie or TV show not aimed at football fans mentions a football club (e.g. Eurotrip), it's Manchester United far more often than any other club. In my mind, that type of stuff is what really determines which one's the biggest, and there can be no denying that this is the one that stands head and shoulders above all others in that regard.
 
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if Asians were as good at football as South Americans…. We’d have every superstar in the world dreaming of playing for us.

Although that might also be changing because traditionally Africa had a strong English fan base, but now most of the best young African players also dream of RM.

Edit: I thought Tchouaméni was Ghanaian but just checked his French
 
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From 99 to 09 we might have been the best team (not the biggest). But Real Madrid has to be the biggest team ever. Just take a look at their succes in Europe and Spain - there is no one near them.
 
wolvored said:
When we buy a player and you go on youtube to watch the first interview on MUTV they must get the player to come out with 'biggest club in the world' diktat.
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They do. I always recall Joe Cole saying it when he joined Liverpool and he came out years after saying he argued it at the time saying they’re not the biggest so why should I say it :lol:
 
Nope. Never have been, and you know what? It doesn’t matter. It’s a meaningless phrase.

We’re big enough. Successful and rich history, huge global and national fan base and wealthy to boot. Now we just need to start being a championship winning club again.
 
Not that any of these things matter but we're comfortably the best supported club in the British Isles, Southern Africa and South/SE Asia. The rest of the world, not so much. I believe Real Madrid and Barcelona reign supreme in Latin-speaking countries, the Middle East and China. West Africa is Chelsea and Arsenal territory. Bayern in the Balkans?
 
Based on all the possible factors I’d probably have a hierarchy, with marginal difference between the tiers, except tier 1 and 2, where Real are far and away the biggest club in the world:

Real Madrid
-
United, Bayern, Barcelona
-
Liverpool, Juventus
-
City, Milan, PSG, Chelsea, Arsenal
-
Atlético, Inter, Dortmund, Spurs, Ajax

A lot depends how old you are. It’s really hard to balance historical pedigree, with current economic and sporting pulling power. It feels sacrilegious to bracket City and PSG - two plastic clubs - with Milan; but to not do so is ignoring modern reality. Likewise, including Spurs anywhere on the list - a club effectively allergic to trophies - feels strange, but the reality is the strength of the premier league, their income and pulling power all merit them alongside the other teams in their tier.

I do feel that United, Bayern and Barca are just that little bit bigger than Liverpool and Juve. There’s just something bigger about those clubs, whether it’s being treble winners, or the size of the fan base. Maybe harsh on Liverpool but United still have the most league titles, first English team to win the European cup, first and only English team to win the treble, only English team to win the modern iteration of the champions league and Premier league in the same season. United took English teams into Europe and conquered it, and then took them back into Europe and blazed a trail after the Heysel ban. They’ve been the biggest club in England for so long and so often been the standard bearer for English football. Still the only English club to have a player win the balón d’or in the premier league era.
 
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simonhch said:
Based on all the possible factors I’d probably have a hierarchy, with marginal difference between the tiers, except tier 1 and 2, where Real are far and away the biggest club in the world:

Real Madrid
-
United, Bayern, Barcelona
-
Liverpool, Juventus
-
City, Milan, PSG, Chelsea, Arsenal
-
Atlético, Inter, Dortmund, Spurs, Ajax

A lot depends how old you are. It’s really hard to balance historical pedigree, with current economic and sporting pulling power. It feels sacrilegious to bracket City and PSG - two plastic clubs - with Milan; but to not do so is ignoring modern reality. Likewise, including Spurs anywhere on the list - a club effectively allergic to trophies - feels strange, but the reality is the strength of the premier league, their income and pulling power all merit them alongside the other teams in their tier.

I do feel that United, Bayern and Barca are just that little bit bigger than Liverpool and Juve. There’s just something bigger about those clubs, whether it’s being treble winners, or the size of the fan base.
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For whatever reason I feel the same way with bolded. Regardless of major trophies won I've always felt we're bigger than Liverpool and this feeling goes way back to the nineties. Bayern, too, have a certain aura that Juventus don't.
 
Debate of who is the second biggest club in the world would probably be more interesting because first place is undoubtedly Real and by a huge margin.
 
simonhch said:
Based on all the possible factors I’d probably have a hierarchy, with marginal difference between the tiers, except tier 1 and 2, where Real are far and away the biggest club in the world:

Real Madrid
-
United, Bayern, Barcelona
-
Liverpool, Juventus
-
City, Milan, PSG, Chelsea, Arsenal
-
Atlético, Inter, Dortmund, Spurs, Ajax

A lot depends how old you are. It’s really hard to balance historical pedigree, with current economic and sporting pulling power. It feels sacrilegious to bracket City and PSG - two plastic clubs - with Milan; but to not do so is ignoring modern reality. Likewise, including Spurs anywhere on the list - a club effectively allergic to trophies - feels strange, but the reality is the strength of the premier league, their income and pulling power all merit them alongside the other teams in their tier.

I do feel that United, Bayern and Barca are just that little bit bigger than Liverpool and Juve. There’s just something bigger about those clubs, whether it’s being treble winners, or the size of the fan base. Maybe harsh on Liverpool but United still have the most league titles, first English team to win the European cup, first and only English team to win the treble, only English team to win the modern iteration of the champions league and Premier league in the same season. United took English teams into Europe and conquered it, and then took them back into Europe and blazed a trail after the Heysel ban. They’ve been the biggest club in England for so long and so often been the standard bearer for English football. Still the only English club to have a player win the balón d’or in the premier league era.
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Michael Owen won balon d'or at Liverpool
 
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United could easily be the biggest club in the world, if it isn't run by money draining leaches in Florida. Real are fine and they have their legendary status but they have a big accessibility barrier for North America and Asia due to the language.
 
Dansk said:
Depends what you measure the "size" of a club by. Fanbase? No, that's probably Real Madrid and Barcelona, due to the size of the Spanish-speaking world and its love of football. Wealth? Not anymore, although we're not so far behind in terms of club value. Sporting success? No, especially not these days, nor historically--other clubs have more trophies. But if you measure the size of a club by how much the world cares about it, I think you can definitely argue that United qualifies as potentially the biggest. There's a reason why, whenever football journalists have nothing else to write about, they just make up some shit about United. There's a reason we have so many rivalries. There's a reason ABU is a thing. Anything to do with United gets far more attention than similar stuff about any other club. The people who make a living writing about football know that Man Utd is the club that makes them the most money.

In terms of how much space we occupy on the global football map, I don't think anyone is bigger, even after a decade without meaningful success. Any news about United gets more views than an identical story about any other club would. Does that make it the biggest club in the world? I think there's a reasonable argument for that. If a decade of total failure doesn't get the world to care any less about us, why would footballing success be a stronger measurement of a club's size? If state-owned clubs with literally unlimited funds aren't automatically the media's utter center of attention, why would wealth be more important? I would wager that if you polled every person on Earth about the first football club that comes to mind, Manchester United would be the one that topped that chart. I think that makes it perfectly valid to say that it's the biggest club in the world.

It says a lot that despite being shit for a decade, we still get far more sponsorships than anyone else (not counting City's fraudulent make-believe ones). We are the most marketable club, the most famous and attention-getting one, and (annoyingly) the club that most boosts a player's platform on social media. To my knowledge, we're the club with the most knighthoods. Outside of South America, we are the most supported foreign club in the world, even despite the fact that football isn't a particularly prominent sport in most of the English-speaking world. When a movie or TV show not aimed at football fans mentions a football club (e.g. Eurotrip), it's Manchester United far more often than any other club. In my mind, that type of stuff is what really determines which one's the biggest, and there can be no denying that this is the one that stands head and shoulders above all others in that regard.
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I bet you live in Uk or Ireland. I spent 5 weeks working in Spain and all the Spanish papers and press were about Madrid, Barca and other Spanish teamsmainly. Sure there were transfer stories about Utd, but also Liverpool, Arsenal Chelsea, City, Italian French etc. This was 2018. We dont dominate their media and I would guess other countries have 10 times the publicity on their own teams too.
 
No.
Unless we like 5 cls on a bounce and add to out league a fa titles at the same time No.
 
Anyway I find United to be an extremely romantic club which is why I became a fan in the first place.
I remember when I first heard of United from my dad it was about the great tragedy and how we rebounded from it not say the ucl triumph in 68 so all the success that ensued was just the cherry on top.

I doubt many other big clubs could claim to be anywhere near mythical as that , it's a miracle we are where we are now to begin with look at turin a great generation of men perished in a similar manner and they're kinda irrelevant now in world football.

I much prefer that to the way other big clubs got where they are (being bankrolled by the likes of Berlusconi and fiat or outright being favored by your national league the way barca and Madrid are )
 
Barca and Madrid were always there in the top list but under SAF era we were like rock stars and massed lot of fan base across the globe adding to the existing good fan base.

Since Oil money rolling into the EPL, We lost some of the new generation young fans as they started following clubs like Chelsea/City, this thing started even in SAF's last years. On top of new money in the league and our last 9 years downfall, we still kept our soul intact and the club backed managers in the market most of these years. I agree that we made few transfer mistakes and didnt have a proper football structure but this can be fixed.

Glazers might not be the best thing happened to us but at least they don't involve in dodgy/shady deals like other owners.

We survived after World wars, We survived after Munich, We survived after our 80's downfall. To be honest we came out with flying colours after every adversary in the history of our club, so have faith guys. Its just a matter of time before we go back to the top.

Every Person, Institute and person have their up's and down's which is part and parcel of the life, So I am sure we will weather this storm and come out on top again.
 
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It's a bit insecure to go about saying your club is the biggest, baddest, hardest around. Like that kid at school who said his dad would batter everyone else's when in actual fact he was probably a fat bastard with a hairy arse.

Absolutely NO cardio.
 
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5 and 7 can be replaced with any other leagues.
 
El General 1994 said:
Just catching up with the FDJ transfer thread and there has been a discussion about what the thread title is. Rather than the FDJ transfer thread be taken off track, can we discuss it here?

This topic has always fascinated me and my fellow friends. Are we? Have we ever been? Is it obviously Real Madrid (history and recent achievements suggest that this should be a forgone conclusion).

My head says no...but the heart never lies....

MODS: Please feel free to delete this as it may have been discussed before.
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If you mean in terms of worldwide support, Real and Barca are out in front with United trailing a distant third. That's always been the case and always will be.
 
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