Manchester United published financial figures yesterday which showed them as the first club in Britain to achieve revenues of over €600 million.
The sheer scale of operation that the major sports and teams are now aspiring to and delivering would be mind boggling to those involved in sport a mere three decades ago.
The game has changed and the pace of that change shows no sign of slowing.
Three figures stand out in particular that will be of interest to Ireland’s major sporting organisations, as much for the changing relationship between revenue as for the absolute figures.
The largest single element of revenue was in commercial deals including kit, and the international portfolio of sponsorships that the club attracts.
This figure climbed to £268.3 million (€318 million) which is a staggering 36.3% increase on the previous year. Bearing in mind this was a period in which the team was in transition and en route to failing to qualify for the Champions’ League.
Broadcast revenues were up 30.4% to £140.4 million (€166.6 million) and that is ahead of the latest increases which will come into effect from the next cycle of rights.
Matchday revenue, long held as the primary income source for sport also grew but at a lesser rate of 17.7% to an figure of £106.6 million (€126.6 million)
In comparison the entire revenue for the whole of the GAA and Irish Rugby combined in the latest published revenue figures covering 2015 and 2015/16 amounted to only one quarter those of Manchester United.
That’s not a criticism of Irish sport, just a marker as to where we sit in the global marketplace.
