The acquisition of Manchester United by the American Glazer family in 2005 was the most egregious example of carpet-bagging in sporting history. In order to buy one of the most famous and profitable football institutions in the world, the Glazers raised £540m worth of debt and then loaded it on to the club itself. Over the past 17 years, against a backdrop of supporter protests and a decline in performance on the pitch, the Glazer ownership has cost the club more than £1.5bn in interest payments, debt and other outgoings. The family have used Manchester United as their private ATM, personally extracting vast sums in dividend payments and “management fees”, and organising soft loans to their other companies. Their ruthlessly exploitative modus operandi has been a sporting scandal in plain sight.
Little wonder then, that United supporters are jubilant at the sudden announcement that the Glazers are now open to offers for the club. The scuppering of unpopular plans for a lucrative European Super League, along with the post-Abramovich sale of Chelsea to American buyers for a £4.25bn investment, appears to have convinced the family that now might be the right time to cash out. Earlier this month, the American owners of Liverpool came to the same conclusion, putting another world-famous English institution on the market. According to Forbes, United are worth £3.9bn, but that figure may rise dramatically in a bidding war. Early reports suggest the Glazers may be hoping for £6bn.
Their departure – albeit with pockets bulging – would be a piece of uplifting news for a sport in which treasured institutions have received minimal protection from the game’s nominal stewards. For far too long, the Premier League and the government have sat back and allowed the upper reaches of football to become a playground for unscrupulous profiteers, hedge funds and sportswashing states. Some United fans will be breathing a sigh of relief that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, having been permitted to buy Newcastle United last year, is unlikely to come knocking at the Glazers’ door.
In the absence of anything resembling robust scrutiny of would-be buyers, sporting integrity and the wellbeing of the wider game have become afterthoughts. Accountability to the supporters and communities that nurtured and sustained these wealth-generating vehicles has been entirely absent.
The spectacle of Manchester United and Liverpool – the country’s two most famous clubs – up for sale should concentrate minds both in Westminster and at the Premier League. Exactly a year ago, the fan-led Crouch review of football governance – set up in the wake of the European Super League debacle – called for an independent regulator for the game, a strengthened owners and directors test, and a bigger voice for fans. Implementing these proposals would be a start, but the idea of reclaiming the game for ordinary supporters seems a distant dream.
The Glazer family should never have been given the opportunity to inflict their business model on Manchester United. Fans, whose protests may have contributed to the family’s decision to explore a sale, can celebrate a breakthrough moment. But the problems of governance at the top of English football run wider and deeper.
