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What Actually Pays the Bills at Old Trafford? Here’s What I Dug Up.
Alright, so I got curious. Like, really curious. You see fans screaming their lungs out every week, players signing deals worth millions, but what about the folks actually running the show day-to-day? How much dough does someone cleaning the toilets at Old Trafford really make? Or the guy managing the Megastore stock? Started digging purely out of stubbornness. Everyone keeps salaries hush-hush, right? Especially big clubs.
First stop? Obviously, checking Man United’s own careers page. Big surprise: almost zero numbers listed. Mostly fluffy stuff about “competitive” packages and “exciting opportunities.” Felt a bit like chasing smoke. Not a single concrete salary figure in sight. Just kept saying things like “attractive salary,” which tells you absolutely zip.
Got frustrated. Decided to widen the net. Hit up big job search sites like Indeed and LinkedIn. Searched for anything tagged “Manchester United” or at “Old Trafford.” Started finding stuff people had actually posted. Some were proper job listings where the poster actually bothered to include a number or range. Others were really vague, just like the club’s site.
Then, spent way too long diving into forums. Places where people supposedly work or worked for the club. You gotta wade through tons of rumors and exaggerations – “My mate cleans boots and he gets £50k” – yeah, right. Tried to filter out the obvious nonsense, focusing on comments that sounded like legit employees griping or casually mentioning their pay.
Here’s the messy reality I pieced together:
- Megastore Staff: Basically retail wages. Think around £8.90 – £10.50 an hour. Maybe nudging £11.50 if you’re a supervisor. Honestly, it’s peanuts compared to what flies around on the pitch. Sometimes benefits like a discount on merchandise (though, with those prices, even 30% off hurts your wallet).
- Hospitality Staff (Bars/Restaurants): Hourly rates felt stuck just above the regular UK minimum wage. Talking £9.50 – £12/hour. Seems decent tips are where you might make something bearable, especially on match days. But who wants to rely on tips? A permanent contract perk felt like finding gold.
- Kitchen Staff: This one sounded bleak. Reports mostly hovered around £9.50 – £11/hour, often part-time or zero-hours contracts. Talk about instability. Read a few comments basically saying they were there for the free meal and the badge, not the cash. Kinda depressing.
- Admin Roles: This gets fuzzier. Junior roles like tickets or office admin? Ballpark £20k – £27k yearly. Felt kinda low for Manchester living costs. Mid-level people in marketing or operations? Harder to pin down, but whispers suggested £30k – £45k. Still felt lower than similar jobs elsewhere – the “United badge tax,” maybe?
The perks? Yeah, sometimes they throw in a match ticket or two per season, some discounts, maybe free tea and coffee in the break room. Felt like crumbs from the billionaire owner’s table.
Honestly? Doing this just made me grumpy. You see these massive transfer fees, TV deals worth billions, club merch flying off shelves… yet so many of the people actually making Old Trafford tick seem paid like any other run-of-the-mill job, sometimes worse. They trade on the prestige of “working for United” while paying wages that make life in Manchester a constant scramble. Saw one comment about catering staff needing housing benefits. At Man United! Come on.
The higher up you go? Obviously, Head of Something-or-Other roles pay properly. Saw a data analyst role posted once paying £50k+, which seemed fair. But those are rare. For your average Joe working security on a cold Tuesday night during a League Cup game? It’s basically minimum wage with maybe a glimpse of Marcus Rashford walking past. You’re absolutely not doing it for the salary.
Ended my research feeling like the club gets away with paying pretty standard (or even low) wages simply because people desperately want “Manchester United” on their CV. They trade cash for kudos. Makes you wonder how sustainable that is when people gotta eat and pay rent. Feels like living on borrowed glamour.