But none of that is a profitable part of the Man Utd brand they are hilariously trying to protect. Likewise there's no real argument that FM players will miraculously find out about Man Utds u18 team and become a fan (having not heard of Man Utd first). I can't see where the free promotion for the brand comes into it with the game, unless you argue people are actually going to support the club based on in game stats rather than watching the team - It's a fair argument for small teams and lesser leagues, where someone can stumble upon the team and get a connection, but not Man Utd, who's games are shown in every corner of the globe and have a massive media presence. The Utd argument being that FM makes £50m+ in sales a year, using the Man Utd brand as a central part of their product (and not just in a cursory way, it includes all aspects of the clubs set up, stadium, and as accurate depiction of its finances as possible), and uses it to make simulated decisions using the real names of key personnel such as Woodward (I'm sure it upsets him to see mere pixels make better transfer decisions than him).
For the scouting thing, thats a fair point, I've a suspicion that it's possible for clubs do have agreements to using the behind the scenes scouting information at a cost.
To me though, this isn't about 'Football Team sues Video Game', this is 'Football Team strikes out to make it's own agreements outside collective bargaining'. To succeed in removing Man Utd from the PL's pool of licensing agreements would have huge repercussions down the line when it comes to the likes of TV rights. This is a push towards the Spanish models, where Real/Barca call their own shots and bugger the rest. Suddenly its not a crazy bit of profiteering, but a rather cynical play to ****ing the financial balance of the game even more than it is.
