mark armstrong

Who is Marc Armstrong and what will he bring to Man United?

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The changes don’t stop at Manchester United.

INEOS’ promise of a complete overhaul at the club is certainly being demonstrated.

From Dan Ashworth to Christopher Vivell, or Andreas Georgson to Jordan Reece, wholesale changes have been coming thick and thin.

It’s hard to keep up.

In the latest development, INEOS look set to bring in Marc Armstrong according to L’EQUIPE.

Who is Marc Armstrong

You might be thinking, can he play in defensive midfield. The answer is no. But he will still bring a lot to the club, just off the field.

Armstrong is currently a chief revenue officer at Paris Saint-Germain and has worked various roles before this.

He started out at the Football Association (FA) in 1997, as the head of business development. He was in this role for 10 years.

Upon leaving the FA, he was the head of commercial business at T.E.A.M. Marketing AG in Switzerland. He left the cowbells behind just two years later to move to the United States.

He became the commercial director for the National Football League (NFL) for two and a half years, before moving across the US’ biggest sports, to the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Armstrong’s role was the vice president of marketing partnerships for EMEA (European, the Middle East and Africa). Then he became the vice president of global marketing partnerships and emerging markets EMEA.

These two roles contributed to just under six years of Armstrong’s career, before he made the switch to French football.

He joined PSG initially as a chief partnerships officer, before being made the chief revenue officer.

He’s been at the French champions for six and a half years.

What a CV.

There won’t be many better financial directors in the world, with stronger sporting experience.

What Marc Armstrong will bring to Man United

He will bring unparalleled financial sporting knowledge. Having worked across some of the biggest sports in the world, Armstrong has the right experience to fit into a club the size of United.

At PSG, he’s been credited for helping boost their revenue to meet financial fair play regulations.

As meeting these regulations is so critical currently, Armstrong could come in and be incredibly influential in helping United avoid any issues.

With the club’s total revenue increasing, bringing in Armstrong will only improve this.

While the Glazer family and Ed Woodward can be questioned on their intent to win titles on the pitch, their success commercially is no doubt.

They turned the club into a franchise and money-making machine.

For years, United dominated the revenue rankings, far ahead of the other big six rivals.

Recently, with the clubs decline on the pitch and the extended rise of teams like Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, they’ve begun to catch up, with City even overtaking their derby rivals.

Armstrong could be key to fixing this.

While United’s form on the pitch is the major dictator, if he can use his previous experience to lure major contracts with big sponsors, then the revenue could grow quickly.

There isn’t the appeal of sponsoring the club as it was several years ago, but with improved performance and proper ownership, this could come back rapidly.

United is a global giant with unbelievable potential, which Armstrong will be looking to tap into.

Fan fury with the Glazer ownership, led to them boycotting sponsors and sending negative reviews to those affiliated with the club.

So, with the support of the INEOS leadership amongst the fanbase, Armstrong shouldn’t have to deal with this, which will make United a more desirable sponsor again.

Why Marc Armstrong is a strong showing of INEOS intent

Its no doubt that since becoming co-owners, INEOS have tried to revolutionise the club as quickly as possible.

The sporting department has been completely changed.

But this Armstrong deal is bigger than that.

It’s a reflection of the power INEOS have on the whole club.

When they purchased 27.7% of United, it was said that they’d have sporting control but the Glazer family would still remain majority shareholders. This meant they still had power over a lot of business decisions.

Deals like Armstrong however, illustrate that INEOS do have power commercially and they are taking over business decisions as well.

This is incredibly encouraging as it means they are being given the license to change the whole club and not just in the sporting department.

This is essential as the commercial side is an important part of United becoming the biggest football club in the world again.

Ultimately, INEOS have been able to pinch yet another of European football’s best businessmen.

A fantastic deal for the new co-owners.

One step closer to bringing the club back to its former glories.