Manchester United News
Manchester United’s turf sale shows where priorities still lie
United’s sale of turf cubes underlines how commercial logic still shapes the club’s decisions.
Manchester United have once again reminded observers that the business never sits far from the football.
Louis van Gaal had already warned Erik ten Hag against taking the Old Trafford job in 2022, describing the club as “a commercial club” and adding, “He’d better go to a football club.” Ed Woodward, meanwhile, offered a blunt explanation of the model during his time in charge, insisting that “Playing performance doesn’t really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival in 2024, with control over sporting matters, was presented as a change in direction. Yet the club’s recent job cuts have underlined how hard it is to separate football decisions from financial ones at a listed company. Ratcliffe also said United would have gone “bust at Christmas” without his intervention.
That austerity has extended to recruitment, with spending concentrated on one area of the pitch at a time. In 2025, the attack was refreshed, while this summer the midfield was rebuilt cheaply and without other major additions. With Premier League spending capped by revenue, selling players remains the fastest route to raising funds.
Now United have added a more unusual source of income. Supporters can buy a 2.8-inch cube of turf preserved in acrylic for £125 ($166), complete with a black case and an image of the pitch on the inside panel. The club relaid its pitch this summer for the first time in 14 years, giving the latest sales idea an oddly specific backdrop.
It also arrives 13 years after Sir Alex Ferguson retired, a moment that marked the start of a long decline into mediocrity. In that sense, the latest commercial venture feels entirely consistent with the club’s modern identity. In fairness, United are not the first to monetise the grass. If anything, the draft suggests they have not been ruthless enough.
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Shaw Injury Leaves United Exposed After Summer Recruitment Gaps
Shaw’s latest injury issue exposes United’s left-back shortage after a summer transfer window that felt unfinished.
Manchester United are once again facing questions over squad balance after Luke Shaw missed Thursday’s Champions League win over Sabah because of injury.
Before the match, Carrick explained why the left back was left out. “It’s a little bit of [managing him],” Carrick said of Shaw’s absence before the game. “He came off the other day with a little bit of cramp. We didn’t want to take any risks really.
“We tried to manage him so we will see how he is after this one.”
The issue comes at an awkward moment for United, whose summer business in 2025 focused heavily on attack before a midfield rebuild arrived in 2026 with the arrivals of Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba. That spending addressed one part of the squad, but the window closed with a clear sense of frustration over the failure to bring in another left back to challenge Shaw.
That omission now looks more significant because United are back in four competitions this season, leaving little margin for error when injuries strike. The timing is especially awkward so soon after the market shut, with the club already needing to manage the same thin depth it chose to live with.
Patrick Dorgu filled in for Shaw against Sabah, though his best role remains uncertain. Under Carrick, he has been used on the left wing, despite arriving primarily as an attacking wing back for Ruben Amorim’s ultimately doomed 3-4-2-1 system.
Dorgu handled Thursday’s assignment without issue, but the challenge ahead is a different matter entirely. Sabah’s level meant there was always likely to be a clear gap in quality, something Sunday’s derby will not offer. Kaheem Parris represented the test on Thursday, while the next one could come from Antoine Semenyo, Phil Foden or Rayan Cherki.
Carrick will want his side to attack at home, but the space to commit everyone forward will not be as generous. Dorgu’s adventurous style may prove too risky.
United hope Shaw will be available again soon. The 31-year-old does not appear to have suffered anything serious, yet his long injury record means caution remains essential and risks are unlikely to be taken.
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Guardiola’s Rashford admiration revealed by Giggs
Giggs revealed Guardiola once said Rashford was United’s best player and would be signed tomorrow.
Ryan Giggs has revealed that Pep Guardiola once made clear how highly he rated Marcus Rashford, saying he would have signed the forward for Manchester City immediately. The former Manchester United winger shared the story from a dinner hosted by Sir Alex Ferguson “eight or nine” years ago, where he sat alongside Guardiola and decided to ask a direct question about United’s best players.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents: The Debrief, Giggs said he challenged the City manager to name the player he liked most at Old Trafford. Guardiola first asked him to guess, but the answers Giggs offered, David de Gea and Luke Shaw, were both wrong.
“He said, ‘The best player at Man Utd [is] Marcus Rashford. I would take him tomorrow.’”
Giggs said he was taken aback by the response, adding: “What’s [Guardiola] seeing? And that was obviously as a center forward,” a reference to Rashford’s early impact as a replacement for Anthony Martial.
The exchange was hypothetical, and there was no realistic chance of Rashford moving across Manchester. Even so, it offers an intriguing view of how Guardiola saw him at the time, and how different things might have looked had that imagined move ever happened.
In 2017, City were moving toward a historic 100-point season. Their striking options were Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesus, who combined for 47 goals, while Raheem Sterling operated on the left, Leroy Sané on the right and Bernardo Silva had just arrived. Guardiola also handed a debut to 17-year-old Phil Foden.
Foden stands as a clear example of Guardiola’s work with young players, and Rashford might have developed in a similar environment. At the same time, Guardiola’s record shows how quickly forwards can be moved on. Agüero, despite his status, had only three strong years under him before injuries and age reduced his influence. Sterling left aged 27, Sané after four seasons, Ferran Torres after 18 months, and Jesus departed in 2022.
Rashford’s own return to the side this season has been a positive one. He has started twice, been used at half-time once, and has offered a threat from the left. He is still without a goal or assist, but Giggs believes the key is effort, especially the work off the ball that Ruben Amorim has said was missing.
“Assists, goals,” carry importance. “But also you need to do [what] will get the fans [on board]. Forget the other stuff, they’ll forgive you for dribbling and getting tackled or hitting a shot over—not all the time, obviously. But they won’t forgive you for not tracking back.
“I love Marcus and I want him to do well. I wasn’t sure if it was right for him to come back because … just the whole hype. But he’s got the talent. He was running at players. He was tracking back. [In] games, just do that. Do that for a season. You will be a superstar.”
Giggs, who made 963 appearances for United, knows better than most what the club’s supporters value.
Manchester United News
United’s defensive start recalls rare historical low points
United’s attack has improved, but Carrick must now address a defensive start matched only rarely.
Manchester United have at least found a way to score in recent Premier League matches, with seven goals across the games against Ipswich Town and Everton. The broader concern, however, remains at the other end of the pitch, where Michael Carrick now has a clear defensive problem to solve.
For the first time in this league campaign, United have conceded two goals in each of their opening three matches. That has only been matched once before in Premier League history, in 2020-21, when Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side let in 11 goals across their first three fixtures: a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, a 3-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion and a 6-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
To find the next occasion, you have to go back more than 50 years, to 1972-73. That was a far more turbulent period for the club, then four years on from becoming England’s first European Cup winners and only two years away from relegation. The campaign began with defeats to Ipswich Town, Liverpool and Everton, and it proved to be the final season for Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, while George Best was also entering the closing stage of his United career. Frank O’Farrell was dismissed four months into the season.
There are older examples too. In 1964-65, United conceded at least twice in their opening three league matches but still went on to win the title under Matt Busby. The contrast underlines that a poor defensive start does not always define a season, even if it creates an early burden.
Carrick summed up the issue by saying it was about “little moments we can deal with a bit better.” Against Hull, set pieces were the issue. More broadly, the concern is that conceding so freely forces the forwards to compensate. Last season, United scored a similar number of league goals to Arsenal, 69 to 71, but shipped almost twice as many, 50 to 27, and finished 14 points behind.
