United We Stand podcast 695. Talking about the Omar Berrada interview and Joey D'Urso

·46 min·4 clips

Omar Berrada gives his first sit-down interview since taking the Manchester United job 11 months ago.

The episode begins with host Andy introducing a clip from his interview with Omar Berrada, Manchester United's CEO, marking Berrada's first on-record sit-down since taking the job 11 months ago. Andy shares his initial pessimism about United's performance but expresses optimism after the interview. He then transitions to promoting the United We Stand magazine, detailing subscription prices and mail-out dates. Andy briefly mentions a tragic incident at a Nations League match in Munich where a fan died. The main guest is Joey D'Urso, a journalist formerly at The Athletic and now at The Times, who discusses his book 'More Than a Shirt'. D'Urso explains the book's premise: football shirts as lenses for global issues like geopolitics and economics. He provides examples, such as Gazprom's sponsorship of Schalke reflecting Russian politics and fake transfer news in Nigeria driven by Google ads. The conversation covers China's football ambitions under Xi Jinping, which ultimately failed, leading to retreats from English club ownership. D'Urso also analyzes the Premier League's globalization, noting its dominance over La Liga and the inflationary impact of state ownership. He traces Manchester United's shirt sponsors from Sharp to Snapdragon, illustrating the club's global brand evolution. The discussion includes the American influence on football, with U.S. owners and markets becoming increasingly significant. D'Urso critiques the Glazers' ownership of Manchester United for extracting money from the club. The episode concludes with thoughts on football regulation, with D'Urso expressing skepticism about a new regulator's effectiveness against state ownership.

As heard by us

A worried United fan finds a little optimism before the episode widens into football's global money and power.

United We Stand begins at Old Trafford with a face-to-face, on-the-record interview with Omar, set against the host's unease about Manchester United after last season and Bilbao.

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Why you'd press play

You want an Old Trafford interview clip, a 48-team World Cup thought experiment, and Joey D'Urso on shirts, money, and power.

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