When the Glazers arrived at Old Trafford, Manchester United were one of the richest and most successful football clubs in the world but the situation has changed considerably over the last few years. United are still one of the richest clubs in the world if we disregard the fact that they owe more than £700 million at the moment. It is now clear that the fans were right when they saw the Glazers as the family that could ruin what so many generations have built from scratch but even when the Americans leave, there will remain a lot of problems that need to be sorted out.
We are all aware the Glazers know nothing about football and couldn’t care less what will happen to United since their only worry is how much money they will make. The Americans have done everything they could to raise the profits, increasing the ticket prices, selling club’s best players, yet they have taken more than £20 million out of the club in consulting fees and personal loans.
As you probably know, the club now owe more than £700 million and it seems the only way to get out of this trouble is by generating bigger profits, which can only be done by the success on the pitch. This certainly looks unlikely, especially this season since it is evident the team need reinforcing after the sale of Ronaldo, but where is the money needed for new signings going to come from?
United’s case should serve as an example that not every investment is good one and Premier League chiefs have to find a way not to let just any fool with a wad of money in their pocket buy a Premiership club. Foreign ownership is becoming a fixture in football today, but just as a club in problems can be revived by the influx of money, in the same way, already healthy club can be ruined by incompetent owners.
Manchester United fans can only hope that the club can find a way to recover when the Glazers leave but that is certainly going to be an uphill struggle and I have a feeling that things will never be the same.
