Ruben Amorim’s desire to not have camera intrusion into his first full season at Old Trafford was the deciding factor
Storytelling has become one of the areas that football clubs have sought to improve in recent years.
In a competitive marketplace where many major clubs are all jostling to be seen and in the eyes and ears of a global audience, the go-to move has been to create a documentary to allow current and future fans a chance to peek behind the curtain and gain an affinity with the club.
The success of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, the Disney+ show that has charted the rise of Wrexham under Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney is something many clubs want a slice of, with the popularity of the Welsh side having soared across the Atlantic in the United States and positively impacted revenues to the tune of millions.
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Birmingham City, who count NFL legend Tom Brady among their ownership group, will launch their own documentary later this year on Amazon Prime Video, while Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ series has been hugely popular in recent years, featuring the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
On Monday it was reported by The Athletic that Manchester United had turned down the opportunity to become the latest stars of the small screen for Amazon, with the call being made to end the talks after boss Ruben Amorim expressed his dissatisfaction.
The report claimed that United executives had been in talks with Amazon for several months with the idea being to produce a documentary on what is set to be a hugely important season for United on the back of their worst in the Premier League era in 2024/25. The money on offer was set to be ‘significantly more’ than £10m and the most money that any team had ever received for an ‘All or Nothing’ documentary.
Despite the on-pitch struggles in recent years for United, the club retains its status as one of the most iconic brands in world sport, and after such a period of tumult, the potential to film what comes next was an enticing prospect to the streaming giant.
In saying no, the club not only misses out on the millions from the deal, but it also reduces its global exposure to audiences at a time when they are going to find themselves out of the European football spotlight. In terms of what that can deliver for the club, it can attract new fans, who build a lifelong connection with the club and become active customers during that period. But the upside wasn’t enough to convince Amorim, and that might not be the worst thing.
By virtue of being Manchester United, every element of what the club does is scrutinised. For Amorim, the 2025/26 season will be one where he has to return the club back to basics to try and address the alarming decline, and for the sake of £15m or £20m, money that could be accrued through player trading, of which United have many saleable assets they can book a profit on, the potential intrusion and impact that may have caused to a squad where plenty have already shown the weight of history and expectation to hang heavy, wasn’t deemed worth the risk.
This was likely a pretty easy no to take for United and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, particularly if it was felt that it would hamper the club’s chances of returning themselves to European football’s elite Champions League group by the end of this season, a feat that would yield far greater financial gains that a documentary would.
But storytelling is only going to become more prevalent, and clubs are going to find more ways to try and find a narrative that has broad appeal, especially as the game continues to become more global and when traditional domestic broadcasting rights are being squeezed.
United know they have reach, that has never been a problem, the issue that they have had for some time is a negative perception of the football club, and that isn’t great for fans, current or future, or commercial partners. The lack of competitive success has come at a time of a succession of PR disasters, such as mass redundancies of non-playing staff in a bid to cut costs.
They will need to present a better image in the coming seasons and it should be no surprise if a documentary forms part of that. But for this coming season, the overriding need for the club to get its house in order behind closed doors and have that reflected through improved performances on the pitch is paramount.
2025-07-08 16:30:00
