Manchester United fans are planning a massive protest this week, at one of the club’s biggest matches of the season.
Joel and Avram Glazer have owned Manchester United since 2005, when they took out a massive £800 million pounds ($1.4 billion AUD) loan to purchase one of the biggest clubs in the world.
The investment has proven to be an incredibly profitable one for the Glazer family, however they haven’t invested any money since their initial purchase of the club.
Fans and pundits alike all have access to all of United’s public financial records and have slowly noticed the Glazers taking dividends out of the club and essentially using it as a bank for their own financial gain.
With United’s struggles since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement from coaching in 2013, the fans have had enough and are demanding the Glazers sell the club to an owner who is willing to invest in the club.
The fans have held plenty of protests before, with planes being flown over Old Trafford on game day with banners displaying the message “Glazers Out”.
It has now reached boiling point, with even more financial records coming out and showing that United are the only club in the Premier League with no investment from the owners and having money taken out of the club.
On Tuesday morning (AEST), United go against their biggest rivals Liverpool in what is one of, if not, the biggest club game in the world of football.
The 2021 clash between the two footballing giants garnered in over 600 million people watching across the globe, so if the fans are looking to make a statement, they’ve chosen the biggest stage to do so.
The fans are planning a walk out of the game to show their disapproval of the current owners, in a desperate bid to get them to finally sell their shares in the club.
The Glazers are aware of the fan distaste in their ownership and have reportedly been open to selling the club for a whopping £4 billion pounds ($6.9 billion AUD).
This figure pales in comparison to the recent sale of Chelsea, which fetched around £3.1 billion pounds ($5.3 billion AUD).
The United faithful won’t remain quiet, demanding genuine change on the financial side or a sale to someone genuinely invested in the club’s on-pitch standing.
You only have to look back to the sale of Chelsea, where the fans and former players came out in their masses to thank former owner Roman Abramovich for his passion and investment to set the club up for success.
The main reason the United fans are desperate for the Glazers to leave is in part about the financial mess they have put the club in since the 2005 takeover, largely due to the decisions the club has made in the last decade.
United haven’t won a trophy since the Community Shield back in 2016 and haven’t been in a cup final or a title fight since.
The club has gone through seven managers since 2013, placing in the bottom five for profit made from player sales since 2017.
United top the Premier League in player wages, having spent a whopping £1.4 billion pounds ($2.4 billion AUD) on bringing in players that haven’t met price tag expectations or helped foster a winning culture.
With all this money being spent, it’s hard to fathom United’s recent record. But the bread crumbs suggest the Glazers target players that attract sponsors, prioritising their marketability over their play.
The Glazers’ front office hires have generated conjecture, too, lacking cutting edge recruitment and team-building strategy.
It’s up in the air whether the protest will be the catalyst for anything, but there’s no doubt fans are done staying quiet.
