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Manchester United intentionally leaked Mkhitaryan kits

By Rucker Haringey

MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY - JANUARY 23: Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Borussia Dortmund celebrates scoring the goal to the 0:2 during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund at Borussia-Park on January 23, 2016 in Moenchengladbach, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images)
MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY - JANUARY 23: Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Borussia Dortmund celebrates scoring the goal to the 0:2 during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund at Borussia-Park on January 23, 2016 in Moenchengladbach, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images) /
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Manchester United knew exactly what they were doing when they “leaked” Henrikh Mkhitaryan kits online yesterday

Most people believe that someone at Manchester United made a mistake by offering Henrikh Mkhitaryan kits for sale on the club’s official website yesterday. Not me. I believe it was clearly a business move designed to maximize kit sales for the club.

United fans went crazy yesterday with the revelation that they could purchase Mkhitaryan kits on the club’s website yesterday. Sure, most people believe that a transfer for the Dortmund star is inevitable, but no one thought it was quite done yet. Certainly not complete enough to offer the player’s kits for sale.

On one hand, United fans are right to read something into the jersey “leak.” It does mean that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be a United player next season. It does not, however, mean that someone at the club made a grievous error in putting his kits on sale.

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The club knew exactly what they were doing when they put the kits on sale. It amounts to nothing more than a publicity stunt. If you prefer, you can characterize it as a clever way to maximize the club’s merchandise sales over the coming weeks.

United officials know that once Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s arrival was formally announced, his kit sales would dominate the club’s website. They know their fan base will fall all over themselves to purchase new United kits with Ibra’s name emblazoned on the back. Manchester United will make a fortune based on his kit sales.

Ibra’s transfer was going to completely overshadow any merchandise increase the club might have seen with the arrival of Mkhitaryan. Under normal circumstances, the arrival of a player of his caliber would be enough to move the merchandise needle at Old Trafford. His kit sales wouldn’t approach the level of Ibrahimovic, but they’d still be a nice revenue burst to help offset the transfer fee required to purchase the player.

That’s why United made the decision to offer the Mkhitaryan kit for sale right before the Ibrahimovic news became official. The club knew their only chance to capitalize on merchandise sales for the Dortmund star was to create some artificial buzz before the Ibrahimovic news broke. It didn’t present them with a great opportunity to capitalize on Mkhitaryan’s arrival, but it was the best solution available to them.

Some of you might argue that Manchester United has so much money they don’t need to worry about a small revenue stream like this. The truth is that monitoring every little revenue stream like player kit sales is exactly how United got to be such a rich club. It’s to their credit that they still are concerned with relatively minor issues.

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Don’t believe the hype that Manchester United “accidentally” leaked Mkhitaryan’s kit for sale online. They are too complex of an organization to make such a juvenile mistake. It was a carefully planned stunt to try to capitalize on Mkhitaryan kit sales while there was still time.

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