Why United Fans Want Glazers Out?
Sky Sports
The Glazer family has owned Manchester United since 2005, when Malcolm Glazer instituted a buyout to buy the club on debt. Glazer had made his fortune in property and owned the Tampa Buccaneers since 1995, taking them from NFL purgatory to the mountaintop in 2002-03.
First impressions are everything in business, and on the evening of June 30, 2005, when the Glazers first visited Old Trafford, United protestors abruptly rejected them upon exiting the stadium. According to ESPN, "Hundreds of United supporters, chanting "Die, Die, Glazer," tried to enter the stadium, prompting the deployment of riot police and dog handlers. Fans erected barriers to stop the Glazers from leaving Old Trafford, forcing officers to bundle the trio into a police van in order to evacuate them safely."
The message was clear from the moment they purchased the team in 2005. They were not welcome at Manchester United. However, since they purchased the team, it seems they have had the opposite effect on United that they did on the Buccaneers. The club has gone from one of the greatest in England to having to live in its glory days with a lack of investment from its owners.
History of United under Glazer Ownership
Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, it is apparent that cracks were being covered up by one of the greatest managers the game of fútbol (soccer) has ever seen. In the nine seasons since Fergusson has been out of the game, United has won three major titles in total, none since 2017. United also has burned through numerous managers, including David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and now current manager Erik ten Hag. United has now also spent over £1 billion in the transfer market for little to no gain on the pitch.
Many European fans wonder why United fans complain and are irate about their owners, given the amount of money they spend in the transfer market. But it goes a lot deeper than that. For recruitment and signings, there is no denying that huge sums of money have been spent on players. However, for too long, there doesn't seem to have been a plan from Glazer-appointed management. This includes often lurching between conflicting philosophies and lacking the kind of identity built across town. For example, the current United squad features players recruited from five different managers, most of which have different philosophies and play styles.
Ultimately the recruitment has been alarmingly consistently poor, with only a handful of players in the post-Ferguson era that could be considered a success. United has also often struggled to close high-profile deals in a way that rival clubs like Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea simply haven't, resorting to pulling out or over-paying, indicative of a lack of relevant expertise in the field.
The combined effect of the parasitic ownership model taking money out and failing to execute sporting operations on a level comparable with competitors has cut United adrift.
Via Yahoo Finance November 2021
Before the Glazers bought Manchester United, the club had been debt-free since the 1930s when the club was saved from bankruptcy. According to 90 minutes, following the Glazer takeover, the club's debt immediately "soared to £660m as a result of loans used to finance the takeover being secured against United's assets."
According to Swiss Ramble and 90 Minutes, United has been totally hamstrung by the Glazer family's ownership model, which has seen an estimated sum of up to £1.6 billion taken out of the club. That is in excess of £740 million on paying interest on the debt, £147 million in debt repayments, £166 million in dividends, and director remuneration and management fees totaling nearly £80 million, all paid out of the club's earnings. On top of that, £465 million worth of shares have been sold, with proceeds not going back into the club.
United’s Debt since Glazer Purchase via the Athletic
Since the beginning of the glazer ownership, their model of trying to succeed in English football has been alarming. For starters, United has three times as much debt as the next highest club in the Premier League in the last decade. Many rival fans may argue that United spends a lot in the transfer market, however, all of which has come from the club's revenue streams rather than owner-led investment. United are £1.6 billion worse off because of their owners.
For comparison, from 2012 to 2021, owner funding at Manchester City totaled nearly £700 million, over £500 million at both Chelsea and Aston Villa, and close to £500 million at Fulham and Everton.
Money Spent on Transfers By Premier League Teams
As shown by the chart above, United has spent close to $2 billion on dividend payments on money taking out money from the club given to the owners and shareholders of the club. Last year's proposal of the European Super League with chief architects the Glazers and Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group brought more outrage to United fans. It would further neglect the club's history and exemplify the greed of the Glazer ownership.
United fans want the team to return to the tradition of winning Manchester United alone in one year, making enough revenue to pay players' salaries, fund match days, and even spend up to $200 million on signing players. However, the story of Manchester United can be depicted in the Glazer's ownership and a photo of Manchester United's stadium Old Trafford. Much like the club, the stadium is falling apart due to a lack of investment. When the Glazers bought United, Old Trafford and Carrington were known as the two most pristine facilities in world football. Currently, however, they represent the Glazers, so it's old, breaking down with a lack of investment.