February 19 – Manchester United are desperately trying to rebuild on the field of play, as manager Ruben Amorim continues to struggle with results. Off it, newly appointed CEO Omar Berrada and just announced Chief Business Officer Marc Armstrong will be expected to drive the already powerful commercial machine even harder.
Manchester United in many ways are an anomaly in the football club commercial world where revenues are driven by success. The club hasn’t won a league title since the 2012-13 season or the Champions league since 2007-08, though did win the Europa Cup in 2016-17 and the FA Cup last season. Despite that relative lack of success they still rank in the world’s top four clubs in terms of commercial revenue.
As United minority owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is continuing an overhaul operational staff and both Berrada and Armstrong are seen as the key bricks in rebuilding that foundation.
Berrada, 46 who was the first major off-field hire in the Ineos era has been poached from his role at Manchester City and officially takes the reins today after a spell of ‘gardening leave’. Prior to his work with the Citizens, Berrada, held a senior role at Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Armstrong was an executive at French giants, Paris Saint-Germain. In Paris, Armstrong oversaw fantastic domestic success, however, European glory consistently evaded the Parisians.
In his seven-years at PSG, Armstrong, served as the Chief Revenue Officer and the club’s partnership officer prior to becoming the CRO.
Along with his experience in France, Armstrong spent 10 years as Head of Business Development for the English Football Association (FA) before moving to Head of Commercial at TEAM Marketing, the Swiss-based firm that has been the driving force behind UEFA’s club properties including the Champions League, a contract that they have recently lost to Relevent.
With the ever growing United States market, Armstrong’s stint with the National Football League (NFL) is seen as a major boon as United continue to seek growth in commercial markets across the globe.
Armstrong will report to Berrada, while Berrada will be working hand-in-hand with Ratcliffe who continues to upset the Red Devil fan base with proposed increases in ticket prices and the latest news announcing more job cuts to staff.
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