How Did The Glazers Destroy Manchester United?

In the Premier League era, Manchester United is the most successful with a long history of heroism and the most beautiful play not only in England but also in Europe.They are the dream destination of many of the world's top players thanks to the unprecedented achievements they have achieved.

In late 2004, the Glazers took control of Manchester United - just a few years before Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan did the same at The City. But when the City boss came to spend money and still benefited the team by nearly £1 billion, the owner of the Theatre of Dreams did the opposite. Reports that the Glazers withdrew from Man United's treasury the same amount as the owner's equity. This was unacceptable to the fans.

To buy United, the Glazers borrowed a total of £660m and between £265m-275m was secured by the club's own assets. This type of deal is known as a form of leverage that allows the Glazers to buy the club despite a lack of money. For the first time since 1931, United are in debt with interest payments of around £62m a year. How did Manchester United come to this and how did the Glazers destroy Manchester United? Let's find out with ANZFootball!

Lack of understanding of football

The Glazers don't really know anything about football. This humiliating story occurred at a European Champions League match where Manchester United hosted Debrecen at Old Trafford. When Wayne Rooney scored to put United ahead in the seventh minute of the game, Bryan Glazer - one of three children of former chairman Malcolm Glazer watching the first game at Old Trafford as club owner - had a question that left everyone stunned: What the hell happened to the ball?

And this became the joke of the Man United fans. Despite being the owner of the club, this is the first time the club's owners have been able to watch a football match. Bryan simply thought it was like baseball or American football. That is, after putting the ball into the net, Rooney should have run home to complete the goal. United's then-CEO David Gill had to explain again with Bryan Glazers' surprised expression.

It's hard to believe but the Red Devils were run by a family whose most basic knowledge of football was also unknown. Ironically, it did. Man United only found out when they were officially owned by the Glazers.

Using the club's debt bondage scheme

However, what makes the Red Devils angry is the dirty tricks of the Glazers. To own Manchester United, the Glazers used a form called LBO - leveraged buyout, meaning to buy back assets with loans. This is the acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money to meet the acquisition costs, and the assets of the acquired company are often used as collateral in the loan.

LBO allows companies to make large transactions without having to use a lot of their own capital. And American businessman Malcolm Glazers used this form when he started buying United shares in March 2003 at a cost of around £9 million for a 2.9% stake. At the moment, United are on track to win their eighth Premier League title in 11 seasons, have ample cash in the bank and are not in debt.

Just two years after the Glazers completed their takeover, the club was £660million in debt with a loan taken over by the club itself and the other half taken over by the Glazers' parent company, Red Football. However, this division is also quite obscure because Man United has to pay most of the exorbitant interest. In 2006, the club's total interest payment was £113 million compared to an annual turnover of £168 million.

Over the next four years, United paid back an average of £95m a year, meaning more than a third of the club's income was used to pay off debts the Glazers and his children had used to buy the club. This is clearly alarming.

A group of fans voted to form a new club FC United of Manchester because they did not want to participate in the process of profiting for the Glazers, but the vast majority of fans remained with the team.

Take advantage of Man United to make personal money

In fact, Old Trafford was expanded by 8,000 seats soon after the Glazers took over. A record crowd also saw Sir Alex Ferguson's side win the 2008 Champions League, the 2009 Club World Cup, three League Cups and five Premier League titles.

But that's just the tip of an iceberg. Despite winning many titles at this stage, their debts have not decreased but increased year by year. In 2010, United's debt rose to £716.5 million. The profit is entirely due to the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80 million.

Still, the Glazers pocketed a steady annual growth rate of £15m for Malcolm's six children each year. The club seems to have become a money machine for American owners. Meanwhile, the number of times these people come to the field each year is only counted on their fingers.

In the Carling Cup final in 2010, fans decided to oppose American owners by wearing the green and gold shirt of Newton Heath's predecessor club. The most iconic moment for the event was when David Beckham picked up a yellow-green scarf and put it around his neck during his return to Old Trafford with AC Milan and that season.

Sir Alex Ferguson, however, is not a fan. The legendary Scottish coach always maintains the words to protect the American owners. Here is his statement in 2012:

"The Glazers are on my side in every way. I didn't meet any opposition. They always seem to know. They must also invest to maintain their assets. I think there are a lot of factions at Man United that think they own the club. There will always be controversy over who really owns the club, always."

They almost completely abandoned the club

In any case, the Glazers have never been popular with fans. They continue to increase the club's debt, even as total repayments and dividends have leaked to £1bn since 2015.

Protests persisted, especially after Ferguson's retirement. The lack of financial commitment is also becoming more apparent. When Liverpool, Man City, Tottenham and other big clubs invest heavily and infrastructure, everything at Manchester United is still the same as when the Glazers took over. A pink hole in the roof of Old Trafford's south stand always drenched the crowd in sudden rains midway through the match.

Old Trafford may be the biggest stadium, but it's also the most dilapidated. Perhaps, football fans have not forgotten Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United interview. The focus of the criticism is, of course, on the Red Devils' current owners. Ronaldo said:
"The owners of the club, the Glazers, don't care. I mean, in terms of sports. As you know, Man United is a marketing club. They will make money from marketing. As for sports, in my opinion, they don't care."

Gary Neville: For 20 years, Manchester United didn't invest in the stadium and they didn't invest much in training. It's a club that is really struggling and I've seen the last few years, Manchester United the only club like that. I think what can change now is the ownership of the club. There is a rottenness that has dipped into this club.

Manchester United has been devastated under the ownership of American owners. Despite some improvements in recent times, it is not enough to help this family regain the sympathy in the eyes of Manchester United fans. And after nearly two decades of owning Manchester United, the Glazers also officially announced that they are in the process of selling the Old Trafford team. This is probably the information that the enthusiastic fans of the Red Devils have been waiting for for many years.

The PSG-owned group bought Manchester United. If this deal can happen successfully, a new and brighter era under coach Erik Ten Hag, is what the Manucians are looking forward to. If that's the case, update on the latest news on anzfootball.com