Skip to main content

Where has United's money gone?

Under the Glazer family Manchester United have generated £7,591,000,000.  How has the money been spent asks football finance guru Kieran Maguire?

The Glazers inherited an annual wage bill of £77m, this has increased five times since 2005 and is now the highest in the PL with the average weekly wage now £178k.

It's not just the players who have been rewarded, with the board earning £129 million during that period and the highest paid director peaking at just over £4.1m in 2017/18.

Lenders have been major beneficiaries of the Glazers period of ownership, trousering £917 million in interest payments in loans that earned up to 14.25% interest. Shareholders (some of whom may have the surname Glazer) have 'earned' £167 million during the period too.

The Treasury has not been such a beneficiary though. Under the Glazers Manchester United has been an overall loss of £354 million, compared to a Premier League profit of £278 million from 1992-2005.

Manchester United have been active in the transfer market under the Glazers, spending over £2 billion on players, but only recovering a quarter of that from sales.

One area where money has not been spent is on the stadium, as under both Project Big Powergrab and Super League capital projects would be funded centrally. Leaking roof, seats too small to sit in, crammed concourses are the legacy...unless you are in the corporate seats.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

  I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month.   He was approaching ninety, but still went to games.   Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules.  Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow
Post a Comment
Read more

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is
Post a Comment
Read more

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen.  There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere:  https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/
Post a Comment
Read more