“If Manchester United already said yes”: Sporting president reveals exciting new venture involving Red Devils

Despite over a decade without a Premier League or Champions League title, Manchester United remain one of the biggest names in sport. Size of the club Manchester United generated record revenues of £666.5m in the financial year to June 2025 in spite of failing to win a trophy and finishing 15th in the Premier League table. What’s more, the club also has plans to build a brand-new 100,000 seater stadium that would be the biggest in the United Kingdom and the second in Europe after the new Camp Nou. A recent report also suggested that United have the third most social media followers after Spanish giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Potential new project Italian paper Corriere Dello Sport (via The Mirror) carry intriguing comments from the President of the Italian Basketball Federation, Gianni Petrucci, about United’s possible involvement in basketball in the future. It has been claimed that United have given the green light to participate in the new NBA Europe tournament. “The scheme will see major European cities, including Manchester, hosting 10 or 12 founding franchises. It aims to capitalise on the growing popularity of basketball outside of America and within Europe.” Commenting on the plans, Petrucci stated, “it’s a new league that will be good for the system, bringing resources and entertainment. The agreement also notes that registered clubs must participate in their respective domestic leagues.” Elaborating further he added, “in a $50 billion (£37.9bn) market, European basketball has a commercial value of just $200 million (£152m).” The next part of his answer will be fascinating for United fans around the world as he stated, “an NBA league is precisely the opportunity to increase competitiveness and expand the pool. If Manchester United, the most popular football team in the world, has already said yes, there must be a reason.” The kick off date for the new NBA Europe is scheduled for the beginning of the 2027/2028 season. Historical ties to basketball The Mirror highlights that, United have been involved with British basketball before. It is claimed that “back in the 1980s, Manchester United’s basketball side clinched a league championship and drew crowds of around 1,500 at Stretford Sports Centre.” Numerous massive football teams across Europe also have highly successful basketball teams such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce and Bayern Munich to name a few. Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images – The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.