How did Manchester United benefit from a £100 million purchase ?

How did Manchester United benefit from a £100 million purchase? 

Pogba's transfer may have cost Manchester United a lot of money, but the club seems satisfied with the recorded revenues.

For those who didn't follow social networks last summer, this player is worth his weight in gold. Even if he came from Juventus for £100 million – the most expensive transfer in the world – the Red Devils have already made this deal profitable by selling shirts which have been snapped up like hotcakes (generating more than £200 million). But it's far from being the only reason.

A Brilliant Marketing Strategy

Pogba is a player with a high marketing potential. With more than 2 million followers on Twitter, 6 million on Instagram and more than 4 million likes on Facebook, he regularly creates the buzz with new hairstyles or videos of his distinctive celebration. It might be a detail for you but for a club or a sponsor it's highly valuable. 

Like a film script

First of all, Mino Raiola (Pogba's agent) denied the rumors of a possible move to Manchester that had been circulating in the newspapers. In order to make everything crystal clear he decided to tweet, stating :

But this was just the beginning of the saga. Then, Adidas launched their « Blah Blah Blah » campaign (a name which is very similar to Raiola’s tweet) with videos, tweets, and Instagram posts. But the messages were  very cryptic because Pogba played an active role in this campaign, and it seemed to counter Raiola's tweet. 

In fact, the agent’s tweet was just to create an interest and initiate the debate of a  move to Manchester. It's no accident that the campaign has such a

name. The objective was to arouse interest in order to make people talk about the superstar. But the German multinational company has not stopped here. 

In fact, someone else played an important role - Stormzy. The famous rapper who is also known to be a big fan of the Red Devils, prepared a short video clip in which we can perfectly see him wearing a Manchester Utd shirt with the name "Pogba" printed overleaf. The 23-years-old French soccer player also appears in the video clip. Once again, the brand with three stripes brought attention to Paul because this video was published 6 hours before the transfer's official announcement but then was deliberately deleted.

This well-orchestrated scenario paid off because Manchester United signed a 10-year contract worth over £750 million with Adidas.

Moreover, the club increased its profits with the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish player had a good season with Paris and United's fans rushed over shops to buy the new red kit. It was also a strategic transfer since it generated a profit of £75 million.

Frustration of Man U fans

This campaign was brilliantly timed and every detail was created in order to have maximum impact. At a sales and marketing level this was the perfect strategy but in sporting terms, United's fans aren't convinced at all. 

When you play in a new team you need a small period of adaptation because you are in a new environment, with new players, a new coach, and a new playing style. But when you play in such a big club expectations are enormous, indeed, you have to show to the fans that you really worth several million.

It is a heavy burden for the most expensive player in the world because after the 10th fixture of the Premier League, the draw against Burnley disappointed the fans. 

The French midfielder only scored one goal during his 9 appearances in the Premier League and he is far behind Ronaldo with 5 goals in 7 games.

Mourinho (the club's coach) is already thinking about changing Pogba's position, but will it help Manchester to bounce back ? Meanwhile, the biggest rival (Manchester City) is taking the lead of the championship.

Abdurrahman.O