Manchester United have fallen behind their Premier League arrivals on and off the pitch since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club and the Glazers’ lack of personal investment has become clearer than ever.. The family took full control of United in 2005 for £790million. However, the deal was hugely unpopular because it was financed through loans secured against the club’s assets, known as a leveraged buyout.. Before they arrived, United were debt-free. Now, they owe £653.3million and have splashed a whopping £772.5m in interest charges (via The Athletic).. READ MORE: Gary Neville calls out Glazers ‘negligence’ and sets Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Man United priority. READ MORE: ‘My only regret’ – Six Sir Jim Ratcliffe Manchester United takeaways that show his true feelings. The mountain of debt has been a primary reason behind the years of protests within the United fanbase. Not only have the club struggled on the pitch, the likes of Tottenham and Manchester City have all bypassed them with the standards away from the action.. Speaking on the MEN Sport podcast, Manchester is Red, our Chief Business of Football Writer Dave Powell has explained how the Glazers have been allowed to let the debt increase. “Because they can service it,” he said.. “If you can service debt, you can have debt. Tottenham’s debt is bigger than Man United’s and that’s getting close to £1billion. That is attributed to the building of the new stadium. There’s good debt and bad debt.. “Good debt will largely be seen as what Spurs did because I think they’ve got a 30-year mortgage on the stadium and by the time they’ve got through that, everything is pure profit. Arsenal did the same, they dug themselves into a hole in the late 2000s at the expense of signing new players because they had debt from building the Emirates Stadium – that’s now been cleared.. “In United’s case, the Glazers purchased the club through debt. The difference being that there was never a penny of their own money that went into it, it was debt financed. That rankles with supporters. United are always able to service their debt and that figure dropped £50m in the current period due to interest changes, etc.. “It still remains an ugly millstone around the club’s neck which fans would rather didn’t exist. But in terms of them being able to purchase players, it’s not impactful because it’s not in their profit and loss every single year. When we talk about PSR, that doesn’t really come into it.. “It’s an ugly thing around the neck of United but ultimately it’s not impactful in them signing players until such time that they are unable to meet the interest repayments, which there is no sign they’ll ever have to do that.”. Old Trafford (Image: Getty Images). The subject of Old Trafford has rumbled on for many years and changes are on course under Sir Jim Ratcliffe. However, Powell has pointed towards the lack of invention around the stadium by the Glazers as proof of their ownership at the club.. He continued: “The ownership of the Glazers has been a black mark on English football, given how it happened with leverage buyout, it has been a case of how not to run a football club. No Premier League title in more than a decade.. “The biggest testament of what they’ve done at United is that we’re still talking about a redeveloped Old Trafford, now, almost 20 years after they arrived. You look around at their rivals, FSG have finished that Liverpool revamp as much as they’re going too. Spurs have a new stadium, Man City latched on to the back of the Commonwealth Games to redevelop the Etihad and Arsenal built a new stadium in the last 15 years.. “United still have Old Trafford and it’s been a testament to the Glazers ownership. If an ownership is willing not to put their own money to buy the club, they sure as hell aren’t going to facilitate a business transaction that involves the club. There’s no qualms about taking money from the club.”. Try MUFC Pro NOW for free. Subscribe to our brilliant app for the best way to enjoy the M.E.N’s unrivalled Manchester United coverage.. No adverts, pop-ups or distractions – just our brilliant content presented in the best way possible.. Comprehensive, round-the-clock coverage of the Reds, with agenda-setting breaking news and insight from Samuel Luckhurst and our authoritative team of United writers. Exclusive content for subscribers. New interactive elements including (coming soon) quizzes to test your United knowledge.. Try MUFC Pro for a front-row seat to the action at absolutely no cost for the first month. You can get started by downloading our app here on iPhone, or here on Android. If you already have our app, click on the ”MUFC Pro’,’ Subscribe’ or ‘ Remove ads’ links.. *Free trial auto renews at £19.99 annually unless cancelled. T&C’s apply. Ad-free indicates that you will not be shown standard display ad formats with the articles that you read, selected articles may contain commercial messages/affiliate links where contractually required.
