Picture Credit: Twitter
Manchester United fans in America are no more enamored with the Glazer regime than their English counterparts, chanting that they want Glazers out ahead of a pre-season friendly match against rivals Arsenal, which the Red Devils would go on to win 2-0. After a drawn out saga around the selling of the historic Manchester club, it appears that the Glazers might keep ownership after all, though it doesn't look like either suitor for English football’s biggest club is backing down.
Frustration around the Glazer ownership is nothing new. Last season, following the opening game defeats to Brighton and Brentford, Manchester United fans organized a massive protest ahead of the home game against arch rivals Liverpool. Their main causes of concern center around a dismal lack of owner investment into the club, as well as a controversial dividend scheme, financial fair play mismanagement and lack of success on the pitch.
In the video which was shared to Twitter and has been continuous rounds, Manchester United fans chanted, “Say we want glazers out, say we want glazers out!”
Manchester United ownership faces harsh criticism over financial management
When the Glazers took complete control of the Red Devils in 2005, the club cost around GBP 1.5 billion (adjusted for inflation) and was debt free. However, the Glazer ownership bought the club using a leveraged buyout - which is when a large amount of debt is undertaken to purchase an asset with the debt secured against the asset being brought. This immediately loaded a debt of GBP 550 million into a club that had been relatively debt free for 75 years until 2005. This figure would peak around 2010 at GBP 700 million after interest.
Manchester United is still paying this off to this day, nearly 18 years later. This move was so controversial, that leveraged buyouts of this fashion were made illegal by the Premier League recently in a law which has been dubbed the Anti-Glazer law. Not only was the club saddled with debt, but dividends were paid out to shareholders after the fact.
Coupled with the fact that Manchester United now face Financial Fair Play issues over the owners’ lack of investment as well as lack of on-field success (no premier league or champions league success in 12 years) and costly transfers that never worked out (Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Jadon Sancho), Manchester United fans are rightfully upset.
But the Glazers appear willing to sell, at least for now, and are currently considering bids from INEOS’s Jim Ratcliffe as well as from the Qatar government fund.
