It will go down as another historic year for Manchester United. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup. In 2011, they passed Liverpool's long-standing record of 18 domestic league titles. And in 2014, they spent as they never had before.
Yet the scary element for everyone else is that United can afford it. They can pay over the odds. They can afford to pursue a ‘Galactico' policy of signing a superstar every year. They can afford to spend another €180 million next summer.
And they can do so without a Sheikh Mansour/Roman Abramovich-style benefactor. Chief executive Ed Woodward is no Peter Ridsdale, who gambled and lost everything on securing Champions League football. Woodward's ability to bring in additional revenue means that United have the means to pay it out. Financial Fair Play is not an issue.
United's turnover in the 2013-14 financial year was another record, €535m. Even in the current campaign, with no Champions League cheque and fewer lucrative home games, that is only expected to shrink to around £390m. It will go back up again when their €940m kit deal with Adidas kicks in next season. The world's most lucrative club have a licence to print money.
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