The Athletic have laid bare the pathetic investment the Glazer family have put into Manchester United over the years.
The arrival of Ineos as part-owners has given the club a new lease of life and whilst their ownership so far has not been perfect, it is decidedly better than what came before.
The Glazer family still own a significant chunk of the football club however and next year will mark an incredible 20 years since they completed a hostile takeover way back in 2005.
The American owners have frequently been vocally criticised for a lack of interest in the club’s success on the pitch with poor appointments at executive and sporting level.
In addition, they have also let the grand old stadium of Old Trafford rot and left Ineos to clean up the mess as they make plans for a brand-new 100,000 seater arena.
The Athletic have broken down the numbers of each Premier League club’s investment received from their owners and it does not make pretty reading for United fans.
The American outlet reports that “a leveraged buyout has been costly to United, with an original £800 million sale becoming a financial deadweight. Approximately £815 million has been paid in interest servicing the debt that came with the Glazer takeover.”
What’s more, not only have they saddled the club with debt but they also haven’t put any of their own money in despite siphoning off dividends for fun over the years.
“Ratcliffe’s arrival also brought an injection of £158 million, the first owner-funded investment at United since the 2012-13 season.”
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire explains that this investment from Ineos and the £249 million received when listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012 means that total owner funding over the years reaches £477 million.
However, when you consider the Glazers have taken £432 million in dividends during this time, it means when all is said and done, they have invested a paltry £45 million into the club in two decades.
This is infuriating in its own right but when you consider that rivals Manchester City have received £1.3 billion in funding, it puts the two club’s level of support from their owners into perspective.
It is also shocking to learn that United have received the least real funding from their owners in the entire league, with even Bournemouth enjoying £93 million of owner funding and newly promoted Ipswich Town £83 million.
Whilst Sir Jim Ratcliffe and company try to undo the mess the club is currently in, these figures are a timely reminder to who the real perpetrators are in United’s downfall.
Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
