Man Utd shot themselves in foot even before ball was kicked in 2026/27 season as rookie error was made – opinion

Manchester United have had an elephant in the room during their 2026-27 season and it is a haunting reminder of Ineos’ decisions ahead of the current campaign.

Ineos have watched Manchester United’s season fall apart in the opening months of the campaign after the Red Devils’ struggling start under Michael Carrick so far.

Two wins from 12 matches across all competitions have left United manager Michael Carrick in a precarious situation ahead of Saturday’s tough encounter with Chelsea.

Outside of United’s woes on the pitch, Ineos caused another headache for the Red Devils after the Premier League club’s past arrangement with Amazon Prime Video.

READ MORE: How Man Utd are viewed outside of England under Ineos’ reign as Europe is mirror image of Asia now

Man Utd’s deal to feature on Amazon Prime Video’s ‘All or Nothing’ documentary is the toughest pill to swallow now

Just as Manchester United sit in 16th place in the Premier League table and one point above the relegation zone, Red Devils supporters will often be reminded of the club’s Amazon Prime Video collaboration. It emerged in June that Man Utd would be the latest Premier League club to feature in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘All or Nothing’ series.

Prime Video’s documentary has lifted the behind-the-scenes veil on different Premier League clubs so far, including Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal. BBC Sport reported that United had ‘brokered a record access fee’ compared with Prime Video’s previous documentary series.

Toby Craig, who is the chief communications officer at Man Utd, described it as the “right time” to open the doors to Old Trafford for viewers around the world. However, United’s decision to agree to the Prime Video series ahead of the new season has aged more like milk compared with fine wine.

If it was not United’s disastrous form in the campaign, then the Red Devils have had headaches elsewhere. Lisandro Martinez took aim at the Ineos hierarchy this month over their lack of summer spending, while Bruno Fernandes publicly criticised Michael Carrick over his tactics in United’s 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como.

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Speaking on the most recent episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, former England midfielder Nicky Butt even suggested that United should be looking at a way to ‘call off’ the Prime Video series.

“I think whatever Amazon paid, I think they [Man Utd] might be handing the money back and calling it off,” he told Man Utd legend Paul Scholes.

“Whatever [Amazon] paid Man United, they’ll be trying to get out of the contract now.”

According to Football Insider in June, former Everton chief executive officer Keith Wyness suggested that United could look to make up to £25m from the All or Nothing series. He broke down that it could be £20m for the initial fee for the documentary and an additional £5m payment depending on the “viewership numbers.”

While the package is lucrative for United on paper, the Red Devils now face the real possibility of having one of their worst Premier League seasons broadcast to the entire world if things continue to play out as they are. Ineos well and truly shot the Red Devils in the foot before a ball had been kicked and United fans can only hope that the Premier League club don’t become a laughing stock because of the All or Nothing documentary.