How the Glazers have sucked the life out of United

In May 2005 the Glazers bought the shareholdings of Irish businessmen JP McManus and John Magnier to take their shareholding to 76%. They did this via a highly controversial leveraged buy-out, borrowing against the club, then using United’s revenue to service the debt via staggering amounts of interest.

Although Sir Jim Ratcliffe has become the central figure at Old Trafford, having responsibility for all football operations, the fact is that he only purchased 28.9% of the club.

Therefore, even after this large the Glazers remain very much in control, as they still own around 49%, while the nature of their shares means that they actually have over two-thirds of the voting rights.

All revenue streams have significantly increased, led by commercial £260m, followed by broadcasting £173m and match day £71m. Staff costs are also much higher, with wages and player amortisation up £288m and £163m respectively. In addition, other expenses rose £115m, while there was a £40m increase in exceptional items.

United’s revenue has more than quadrupled under the Glazers, rising from £157m to the club record £662m. That said, this is only 6% higher than the pre-pandemic peak of £627m five years earlier. Nevertheless, United have comfortably generated the most revenue in England in this period, amounting to £8.3 bln, which is significantly more than their rivals, e.g. the next highest are Manchester City £6.8m and Liverpool £6.3m.

United’s £505m revenue growth is the second highest in the Premier League, only surpassed by Manchester City’s £654m. However, it is worth noting that their percentage growth is the second worst performance in the Big Six.  Looking further afield, United enjoy the fourth best revenue worldwide, only behind Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

So how did United’s finances look before the Glazers bought the club, i.e. in 2004/05? In short, they were very good.  They had the highest revenue in England, the highest EBITDA, the highest operating profit and the second highest pre-tax profit. This was also the last time that United had net interest receivable, as opposed to paying out tens of millions in interest.

UEFA TV rights have greatly increased during the Glazers’ tenure, but United have failed to take full advantage. For example, the €130m European TV money they have earned in the last three years is considerably lower than the €188m and €178m in the preceding 3-year periods

United only had the fourth highest earnings in England in the more recent decade, with their €537m being a lot lower than Manchester City’s €935m and also a fair bit behind Liverpool €725m and Chelsea €586m. In the first ten years, only Chelsea did better than United.

United have significantly increased their wage bill under the Glazers from £77m in 2004/05 (£84m if pro-rated from 11 months) to £365m last season. This means that wages have basically grown at the same rate as revenue, i.e. 334% compared to 321% for the top line.

The cost of managerial changes

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United have paid out nearly £100m for the frequent changes in manager (plus coaching staff) and senior executives.These errors of judgement show no sign of stopping with £25m incurred in 2024/25. First, there was £10m for sacking Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff, just a few months after extending the Dutchman’s contract, while United paid £11m compensation to Sporting for Ruben Amorim and his staff, then £5m for sporting director Dan Ashworth, who only lasted five months at the club.

United’s player trading record under the Glazers has been pretty miserable, as is shown by their record profit of £80m coming way back in 2008/09, when they sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Last season saw their second highest gain, but this was still very much on the low side at £37m.  In fact, their £345m profit from player sales since 2004/05 is comfortably the worst performance of the Big Six. Chelsea are in a league of their own here with £1.0 bln, but every other club has made at least half a billion Pounds.

The impact of interest payable on United’s accounts is also clear, amounting to a hefty £61m in 2023/24. As well as being driven by the club’s substantial borrowings, this is also impacted by movements in the exchange rates, as much of their debt is denominated in USD.  United’s £738m net interest payable under the Glazers is significantly higher than the rest of the Big Six, more than twice as much as the next highest clubs, namely Tottenham £320m and Arsenal £293m.

United have now reported a loss five years in a row, adding up to a hefty £358m before tax. This marks a major deterioration, as the club had posted healthy profits in five of the six years up to 2018/19, but it now seems to be stuck in a loss-making cycle, as it continues to invest big money into the squad with little return.

United have spent a huge amount of money on player recruitment, further ramping up investment in the squad in recent years. They have splashed out more than £200m in each of the three seasons, so the outlay during Erik ten Hag’s troubled reign added up to nearly £700m, which is a staggering amount, considering that the team has actually become worse.

Debt and interest

Even after all of the various re-financings and hefty interest payments, United’s debt is now over £100m higher than the £604m placed on the club as part of the Glazers’ LBO. United’s £731m gross debt is the third highest in the Premier League, only surpassed by Everton £1.0 bln (before the refinancing by the Friedkins) and Tottenham £851m, though much of the borrowing at those clubs has been used to finance a new stadium, as opposed to simply paying for the privilege of having the Glazers as owners.

United have now paid a jaw-dropping £834m in interest since the Glazers’ leveraged buy-out in 2005, money that could have been invested in refurbishing Old Trafford or spent on new players.  To place this into perspective, United’s £815m interest payment under the Glazers (up to 2023/24) was more than three times as much as the next highest club, namely Arsenal with £267m. In fact, they have paid over £200m more than the rest of the Big Six put together.

In contrast, United have not invested much into infrastructure. The highest outlay under the Glazers was £36m in their first year of ownership – and that had been committed by the previous owners. This helps explain the state of disrepair of Old Trafford.

United are the only Premier League club to have paid meaningful dividends, adding up to £170m under the Glazers, including a hefty £156m since 2016. The good news is that the board has not approved the payment of a dividend for the past two years.

It’s difficult to be precise, but the authoritative Swiss Ramble reckons that the Glazer family has trousered nearly £1.5 bln via a combination of share sales, dividends, directors remuneration and management fees.

Ratcliffe deserves the opprobrium he has received, as has taken a series of unpopular decisions, including making hundreds of employees redundant and removing staff perks, such as free tickets to the Europa League final.   However, at least he has put money into the club, while the Glazers have treated United as their own personal cash machine.

The Glazers’ strategy has only really worked when they have had a great manager, who can drive success on the pitch. Without having such a valuable piece of the jigsaw in place, United’s revenue has inevitably suffered, even leading to the club facing challenges in meeting financial sustainability regulations.

All that being said, if United do beat Spurs in the Europa League final, they would qualify for the lucrative Champions League, which would solve many of their problems.