@Litch @Bondi77 Sure that gets you lot of exposure but with almost 10 years in and out of the CL, let alone the latter rounds and his abysmal record internationally, I think we are overestimating a little bit how popular we make players. It's us who buy marketable players like Pogba and Ronaldo to keep us popular and keep our name afloat among the younger generation. Playing for us alone has hardly been that profitable popularity wise the past few years. Yes, The PL carries a huge caché but it doesn't make legends and ingrain names in popular culture like the WC or in modern days, the CL. It is why Cantona who let's not forget, had a much better career with us and was a bonafide star in every way, enjoyed a significantly lesser profile outside of our bubble compared to other French players at the time for example.
10 years doesn't define us as a club, our history separates us for others who are currently making their own but in a different context. Irrespective of our success, the shirt and the badge is probably the most recognised in the world along with Real and Barca. It's the shirt that creates the popularity not the other way round. Pogs has done little in a utd shirt, yet Adidas pay him millions of pound, and that's not cause he's won the World Cup.
I'd argue both CL and WC are the same profile cause they are cup competitions, aren't seen in the same way as the Prem. We have to wait 4 years and the winners are only relative to that country, club competitions encompass loads of nationalities playing for that side.
You telling me Chelsea's profile has been raised cause they won CL? It's to elite and only 10% of football clubs play in it anyway if that.
You forget the size of the bubble, it's is greater than any country cause it's informed by many countries.
It's impossible to talk about the Cantona and relate to anything, cause today if he was to kick a fan in a stadium, he'd never play professional football again, that's how much things have changed.
We pay high salaries cause we generally buy the best players, others salaries are low cause they buy good players, pay them average wages who potentially turn into go players. You think Liverpool can pay Salah £400k now a week? I expect to see him in a PSG shirt any time soon.