It was during one of his quarterly conference calls with shareholders that Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward gave a “very simple and candid” answer about the Premier League juggernaut’s ability to make money come what may.



“Playing performance doesn’t really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business,” he told a fund manager from an American bank who had just asked if the positive numbers Woodward was racing through were because the team was doing well.



It was May 2018 and the season had just ended with United in second place, their best finish since Sir Alex Ferguson’s final title flourish in 2013.



Admittedly, they had finished 19 points behind their record-breaking “noisy neighbours” Manchester City — and they would lose to Chelsea in the FA Cup final two days after the call — but Woodward could reflect on a season of solid if...