United unveil new podcast feature on club app as downloads hit three million

The podcast resonated with fans more strongly than ever during the pandemic as topics such as mental health and racism have been at the forefront of national and international conversation.

In one notable episode, ex-player Quinton Fortune spoke candidly about racism in light of the Black Lives Matter protests, relating it to his childhood experience in 1980s South Africa, when the country was gripped by Apartheid. Another guest, Viv Anderson, spoke about the horrendous abuse players received from the terraces in the 1970s, and Lee Sharpe spoke openly about his struggles with mental health, and how he hid his troubles from even his closest friends and family.

Patrice Evra also talked powerfully about his career-long battle against racism. Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba spoke candidly about the pressure of modern media, and in particular social media, and the importance of mental health. Dimitar Berbatov explained how he survived famine, poverty and kidnap in communist Bulgaria, before football gave him his escape. All of these episodes are available, along with every episode since the start, in the new app feature.

The hard-hitting content has dovetailed with the club’s campaigning on issues such as anti-racism and mental health awareness, bringing these issues into the open through the personal experiences of club legends.

“We keep in things that other podcasts would cut out, making fans feel like they’re in the room and taking them on that emotional journey,”

said Nolan. 

The storytelling and evergreen nature of the episodes mean fans binge on them, starting new sessions from where they left off. For Nolan, who oversees all of United’s content output from MUTV and the official club app, to its social media channels, the success of the podcast has demonstrated the power of high-quality and authentic content to deepen engagement with the club’s global army of fans.