Named Arsenal’s sporting director in late 2022, the Brazilian lists the recruitment of Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Declan Rice among his achievements at the Emirates Stadium.
The flurry of profile pieces written since Arsenal’s shock announcement that Edu is leaving suggest that his talent lies as much in his charisma as it does in his football industry know-how.
That distinguishes Edu from technocrats like Liverpool’s Michael Edwards or outgoing Man City’s Txiki Begiristain, whose style is as effective but perhaps more details-orientated.
Incidentally, Edwards re-joined Liverpool specifically to set up a multi-club network, while Begiristain oversees 11 other City Football Group-owned or part-owned clubs besides Man City.
Reportedly, the reason Edu is set to exit Arsenal is because the offer he has received, from Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, involves cultivating and expanding a multi-club network.
That is not in the plans of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke.
The Missouri-born billionaire owns MLS side Colorado Rapids but has been accused by its fans of being an absentee landlord, with the club now the least valuable across both conferences.
What’s more, besides the occasional exhibition match between the two teams over the years, the Arsenal-Rapids relationship has none of the characteristics of a multi-club network.
Sharing resources, pooling costs, bypassing recruitment barriers and creating a brand are among the benefits enjoyed by the likes of Red Bull and City Football Group.
And while the ownership style is controversial – and, in the eyes of most fans, justifiably so – it is increasingly the go-to model for club owners.
The multi-club factor: Why Edu left Arsenal for Nottingham Forest?
Arsenal reportedly considered the multi-club model in 2022 but have since abandoned that ambition, unlike Chelsea, Man United and Aston Villa, who have all established multi-club links since that date.
“Arsenal have become a bit of an outlier in terms of their position,” Kieran Maguire told TBR Football.
Maguire, football finance lecturer at Liverpool University and host of the Price of Football podcast, went on to compare Kroenke’s stance with Liverpool’s owners.
Infographic explaining multi-club networks, with examples including the Red Bull model and Man City's City Football Group.
Like Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) also own teams in multiple sports but, unlike Arsenal, are looking to build links across the network.
Sports teams owned by Stan Kroenke
Kroenke’s £12bn-valued sports empire encompasses multiple franchises.
“FSG has become more of a multi-sport model as opposed to a multi-club model, there are still synergies in terms of sponsorships and celebrity endorsements, and so on,” Maguire said.
“Arsenal have quite a narrow focus under KSE. Stan Kroenke is known as ‘Silent Stan’ for a reason. Trying to get anything out of the club is difficult for anyone who is interested.”
Edu’s exit was not about money – ‘Arsenal have the resources’
Edu’s salary at Arsenal is believed to be in the £2-3m bracket, with various reports suggesting that Marinakis has doubled or even tripled that figure.
“By all accounts, Edu was offered a very generous wage,” says Maguire.“Under those circumstances, you can understand it, although Arsenal will have had the opportunity and resources to match that. Ultimately, they chose not to go down that route.“
Arsenal’s finances: Champions League return is key
Kroenke is one of the wealthier individuals on the planet and, in the context of sports business, at the very, very top of the tree.
If he chooses not to spend a few extra million on establishing a multi-club network, it is not because he doesn’t have the requisite liquidity.
Arsenal’s accounts for 2022-23, the last financial year on record, show that they had the lowest revenue of the so-called Big Six clubs with £465m.
Chart showing how much revenue Arsenal have made since 2012-13, according to their official accounts
But that gap between themselves and the other five richest clubs will have narrowed in 2023-24 thanks to their return to the Champions League.
A seven-year absence from that competition has been felt not just in the lack of prize money but also in the commercial department, with their leverage with sponsors taking a bit hit.
Arsenal are now righting that wrong. Their deal with Adidas is going well, while the planned expansion of the Emirates Stadium will be a magnate for blue-chip brands.
“On the back of that, it does appear that they are just going to be focusing on Arsenal rather than a multi-club operation,” says Maguire.
“If they don’t have a successful season off the back of that strategy and following Edu’s departure, the fans will express their disappointment.”
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