If there was one thing that the global health crisis reminded us about football, it’s that fans make the game. When matches are played out in front of zero fans in sterile atmospheres, something is lost from the beautiful game. It’s also true that supporters, through tickets sales and match day spending on food, drink etc, also help to finance a football club’s endeavours. In that sense, there’s a link between fan spend and player transfer fees.
It’s amazing to think that so many clubs continue to take the support of their fans for granted. On an annual basis, there’s season ticket price rises at a time when the average football fan has less money in their pocket – and way above the rate of average wage increases, too. This has caused a rift in which clubs have been accused, rightly, of ‘taking advantage’ of their followers’ loyalty.
It gets worse. Now, some clubs are even beginning to convert general admission fan seats into corporate hospitality. Why? Because VIP guests pay more money – it really is that simple. One case, unfolding at Manchester United, is evidence of how little longstanding, loyal fans are thought of.
Lack of Respect
Although he’s supported the Red Devils for more than 70 years, Michael Carney wouldn’t expect any preferential treatment from his beloved United. What he would expect, however, is the respect that comes with having occupied the same seat at Old Trafford in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand for more than four decades.
However, Carney – perhaps one of the few United fans old enough to have watched Sir Bobby Charlton in the flesh – has been told that he will need to vacate his seat for the 2025/26 season… because the club wants to sell it as part of a corporate hospitality package. He received a letter detailing the club’s plans. It reads:
We have identified a small number of general admission tickets directly adjacent to the home and away dugouts that will be converted to hospitality seats this summer.
This reflects the high value of this unique location and will help to raise hospitality revenue to keep general admission Season Ticket prices lower. Your current seat is included within this block, and we will therefore need to find you an alternative seat for next season.
It’s somewhat ironic that United are claiming this distasteful move is designed to, ultimately, keep season ticket prices down – at a time when they have literally raised them by an inflation-busting 5%. Carney said,
They are brilliant seats. Mine is smack on the halfway line, midway between the dugouts and the directors’ box. It is very sad after all these years.
He also revealed that he often receives messages from the club asking that if he cannot make a game, that he informs them in advance. The tickets are then placed on general sale at a grossly inflated mark-up. Carney confirmed,
The lads around will ask whoever is in the seat how much they paid for it. Very often it would be £250-£300. That is a good way of seeing what they want to do now.
If you had the misfortune of sitting through United’s dreadful 0-0 draw with Manchester City in April 2025, you may have noticed a group of fans protesting in the stands after the game. That was a group featuring Carney, who made their feelings known about the corporate decision-making. Other supporters’ groups protested outside of Old Trafford. Unfortunately, such dissenting voices are likely to fall on deaf ears at a time when the need to maximise profit means that football continues to eat itself from the inside out…
What Are VIP Dugout Clubs in Football?
It’s the jazzy new zeitgeist in watching live football, offered by Chelsea, Liverpool and others. Welcome to the Dugout Club, where you’ll enjoy the best view in the stadium in padded seats, while enjoying exclusive hospitality and dining in the VIP lounge. It could all be yours – for a mere £12,500 per game.
This is football fan tourism, where the average supporter is priced out of the action and replaced by wealthy types who may have no particular interest in the club or even football itself – but you can’t put a price on a zinging Instagram post, after all.
Stamford Bridge, Anfield and Emirates Stadium
These so-called dugout clubs are available at Stamford Bridge, Anfield and the Emirates Stadium, to name a few, while Old Trafford is set to have its own version for the 2025/26 season – forcing the likes of Michael Carney out of the prime seats they have held for decades.
It underlines a growing trend in modern football for profit maximisation with Real Madrid leading the way. As per Deloitte’s Football Money League, the Galacticos became the first club in history to generate more than €1 billion (£860 million) in total revenue in a single calendar year. Of that, €248 million (£212 million) came via matchday revenue alone.
Real Madrid
Real’s Bernabeu home was expanded ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, with a number of plum seats ringfenced for their own version of a dugout club – members pay £210,000 each just to be on the list of potential attendees for 30 years; that figure doesn’t include the cost of the seat on matchday.
Within a single season, Real’s matchday revenue had jumped from €122 million to €248 million – additional money that they can use to offset their losses (in transfer fees, player salaries etc) and satisfy Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR). Football clubs are increasingly looking for these ‘easy wins’ – ways to generate more income without necessarily forking out big on an initial outlay. It’s finance that can then be reinvest back into the playing and coaching staff.
Unfortunately, there’s a human cost to such financial desires, with loyal fans elbowed out of the way in favour of cash-rich interlopers. That’s good for the balance sheet, but – long term – is it good for the game?
