Manchester United have reportedly walked away from talks with Amazon over an access-all-areas documentary after head coach Ruben Amorim failed to give the green light.
United’s current financial troubles have been well-documented after years of mismanagement and wasteful spending under the ownership of the Glazers.
United have made no secret of their desire to raise cash, heading out on a post-season tour of Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur that was worth a minimum of £8m. With debt now exceeding £700 million and without European football next season, the club’s financial prospects look increasingly worrying.
Since his arrival in February last year, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has embarked on a ruthless cost-cutting exercise that has seen hundreds of staff made redundant, Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial contract terminated, and the cancellation of cup final perks for employees, among other policies.
United scrap Amazon documentary talks after Amorim decision
Now, The Athletic have revealed that in the final months of last season, United held discussions with Amazon about filming a potential documentary, which would have become the newest and most high-profile edition of their popular ‘All or Nothing’ series.
Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have all had similar documentaries with Amazon but a United instalment would have been the biggest one yet. It’s understood Amazon were prepared to fork out over £10m to get it over the line.
According to The Athletic, “Manchester United have withdrawn from secret talks over a record-breaking Amazon Prime access-all-areas documentary next season after concluding it could distract from the progress of the first team.”
“Despite United’s most senior executives being across the discussions, the plug was pulled earlier this summer. It was to a significant extent because head coach Ruben Amorim made clear he was not comfortable with the potential intrusion on the first team — while aspects of the commercial agreement and the time pressure of the upcoming season were factors, too.”
The suggestion was put to Amorim, he relayed his feedback and it was then unanimously decided to ditch the plans.
United backing Amorim all the way
As per the newspaper, CEO Omar Berrada was for the idea but the fact that Amorim’s opinion carried such weight reflects the club’s unwavering belief in the Portuguese coach, despite his troubling start to life at Old Trafford. Amorim won just seven of the 27 Premier League games he oversaw after replacing Erik ten Hag as in November.
Amorim also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham and led his team to a lowly 15th-placed finish.
United are eager to back the 40-year-old in the transfer market and have already partly done so, through the acquisition of Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers. United also recently announced the signing of Diego Leon.
Featured image by Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
