The owners of Manchester United are £1.1 billion (US$1.6 billion) in debt, leaving their control of the club in doubt, the BBC reported yesterday.
The BBC said its investigation found that the Glazer family’s debts are £400 million greater than previously known.
The extra debt comes after the Glazers borrowed extensively against their shopping mall business in the US, according to the finding broadcast yesterday night on the Panorama program.
The extent of the debt could fuel a further revolt by a group of United fans who oppose the Glazers’ ownership.
The Glazers, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, took over United in 2005 in a leveraged buyout worth £790 million.
The BBC said it saw mortgage documents showing that the Glazers have borrowed US$570 million against shopping malls owned by their company Allied Corp. That’s in addition to US$1 billion in debts tied to Manchester United and US$95 million to the Buccaneers.
The Glazers have said they have assets totaling £2 billion.
“I don’t think anybody can be satisfied with how Manchester United are being run,” Dave Whelan, chairman of Premier League club Wigan Athletic, told Panorama. “They have got somewhere in the order of a three-quarters of a billion pounds worth of debt. That has got to be eliminated and eliminated quickly.’’
The research for the BBC program was carried out by Andy Green, a London financial analyst who is part of a campaign by disgruntled United fans to oust their Glazers.
Thousands of United fans have attended matches at Old Trafford this season adorned in green and gold colors instead of the club’s usual red. The homage to United’s original 19th century colors is a protest against the Glazers.
The Glazers have said they will not sell the club.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS