United fans still bitter over Glazers’ buyout
Print Edition
FEW Manchester United fans will ever forgive Malcolm Glazer for his acrimonious buyout of the club that left the 20-time English champion with millions of dollars of debt.
As a result, there was no outpouring of grief or flood of tributes from fans in the northern English city of Manchester following Wednesday’s death of the club’s 85-year-old former American owner.
Perhaps aware of the supporters’ enduring animosity, there was a low-key response from United — just a 75-word website statement that was in noticeable contrast to the gratitude flowing from the Glazers’ NFL franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
United’s Twitter account made no mention of the passing of the man who bought the club for 790 million pounds (then US$1.47 billion) in 2005.
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, which has spearheaded the movement against the Glazer family, avoided any criticism of the billionaire in the hours after his death, choosing to reassert its condemnation of the family as a whole.
Glazer’s direct involvement in United appeared to end after he had a stroke in 2006, and his six grown children control all but the 10 percent of the club that has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2012.
“As a supporter I am aware of the detrimental effect the Glazers have had on the football club and the huge debt that has been placed on Manchester United,” MUST vice chairman Sean Bones said.
Although United’s debt has fallen from a high of 716.5 million pounds in 2008-09 to 351.7 million pounds, the financial burden remains a source of bitterness among fans.
United was debt free before the Glazers saddled the club with loans to finance the buyout, which was greeted with violent protests and burning effigies of Malcolm Glazer in the streets outside the 76,000-capacity Old Trafford.
Servicing the debt has cost United more than US$1.5 billion in finance charges over nine years. Fans can only dream how that money could have been spent on new players rather than going to financial institutions.
The fans’ anger has only grown since Abu Dhabi’s ruling family bought crosstown rival Manchester City, investing more than US$1.5 billion to overhaul the team and infrastructure to finally challenge United’s supremacy. City won the English Premier League title this season for the second time in three years. United finished seventh.
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