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.
Manchester United have to pay to have the Glazers as owners.
— Jonny Ross (@thejonnyross) August 16, 2022
£743m interest
£166m dividends
£55m director remuneration
£23m management fees
£465m in Class A share sales.
Total stolen from United: £1.559b#GlazersOut #GlazersSellNow
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”.
– Thursday: Fans break into Carrington to protest and speak to Ole
— ' (@AniUTD) April 25, 2021
– Saturday: Huge turnout outside OT for the first Glazers protest
– Sunday: Plane flies over Elland Road.
– #GlazersOut on and off the trending list on Twitter worldwide
Been a good few days #GetOutGlazers ???? pic.twitter.com/KIHprA9rtR
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.
In fact, in the last 10 years, no owners in the Premier League have taken out more money than the Glazers have done at #MUFC with £154m (dividends £133m, share buyback £21m). In stark contrast, some owners have put in significant funds: #MCFC £684m, #CFC £516m and #AVFC £506m. pic.twitter.com/HpdE5xDNXr
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) August 16, 2022
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.
Man United fans are planning a walk out at Old Trafford when they face Liverpool on MNF in a couple of weeks.
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) August 10, 2022
????⚫️⚪️
???? @UtdWesleyy pic.twitter.com/HugCWWuR5n
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 emotion behind every single word in this beautiful tribute to the legacy of Mr.Abramovich. Still feel fortunate every single day that we had/have got a guy like John Terry resembling our football club throughout his life.
— Shubham. (@_ShuBhamCFC) August 14, 2022
Our Mr.Chelsea! ???? pic.twitter.com/4a5nAb9epn
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.
Jadon Sancho has played under more managers at Man United (4) than he has goals in the Premier League (3) ???? pic.twitter.com/dBKrzvZfiB
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 14, 2022
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.
#MUFC wages for first 9 months of 2021/22 shot up to £288m, due to signing Ronaldo, Varane and Sancho, which works out to £384m on an annualised basis. This is in line with the club’s estimate of a 20% year-on-year increase to £387m, which would be the highest ever in England. pic.twitter.com/n1eD7QjUZy
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) August 16, 2022
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.