Manchester United's bank balance falls from £150.6m to £50.9m during a 6-month span
by Gene Um on Feb 21, 2012 6:59 PM GMT
in Manchester United: Things you should know...
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Full disclosure: when it comes to finances and football, it mostly goes over my head. Moving on anyway...
However, I do understand that Manchester United's revenue is relatively massive but so is the club's debt due to the nature of the Glazer's model of ownership. Therefore, we simply don't spend money on players that would match our potential buying power. Here's another sobering piece of news: United's bank balance has fell from £150.6m to £50.9 during a recent six-month according to a recent quarterly report. Here are a few other highlights that the linked piece provides:
* During the final six months of 2011, United's revenue of £175m was an increase from the £156m in comparison to the previous year during the same span of time.
* There was a net spend of £47m on transfers during the past summer -- this pertains to bringing Phil Jones, Ashley Young, and David de Gea to the club.
* The Glazers have now spent £92.8m buying back bonds originally released in 2010 for £512m.
* Wages have increased 17.3% when compared to the previous year.
The final paragraph of the linked piece is so sobering that it might make you want to reach for a drink:
"Since the sale of Ronaldo [in June 2009] net transfers [not including Ronaldo] have totalled just £90m while they have taken out of the club £225m to cover their debt payments and interest. What could the club have done with that extra £225m? Cheaper tickets for loyal fans, investing massively in the squad and stadium, developing and retaining the best youth players, competing on an equal basis with the very best teams in Europe. This is the true cost to Manchester United of the Glazers' ownership."
- Manchester United Supporters' Trust
After United's exit from the UEFA Champions League in December, the Guardian's Daniel Taylor wrote this piece hinting at United's financial vulnerability. It also had this cold fact on United's net-spending on players during the past five years:
"The truth they do not want you to know at Old Trafford is that in the past five years United's net spend on transfers is a mere £56.9m. Or, to put it another way, less than Aston Villa, with £68.2m, Sunderland's £62.7m and Stoke City's £61.2m. Manchester City have spent £437.1m, Chelsea £144.9m, Liverpool £84m and Tottenham Hotspur £76m. Many will point out the £50m transfer splurge on Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David de Gea as evidence that the Glazers are not as frugal as portrayed. But even this is not as straightforward as it seems. Ferguson has said himself that the new arrivals were funded because of the considerable savings made from releasing Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar and Owen Hargreaves, each of whom earned around £4m a year. United also made around £10m by selling John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Gabriel Obertan, along with a couple of reserve players, Corry Evans and Joe Dudgeon."
Yes, you really did read that correctly. We really have spent less than Stoke, Villa, and Sunderland :(
Like I mentioned earlier, I am certainly no expert on this topic. If you want more in-depth analysis on United's finances, then the excellent blog The Swiss Ramble has you covered in regards to the business of football. This link is for everything specifically written on United by him and it goes into thorough detail on the club's finances.
Your thoughts on United's latest quarterly report? Your thought's on United's finances in general? As always, feel free to share your feelings in the comments below or it fancies you, we encourage you to write out your thoughts in a detailed 'FanPost'.
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We're not stupid...
Any supporter who has been paying attention to transfers knows that the funds haven’t been there recently. SAF has tried to keep up appearances….but its pretty obvious.
by Amen Amachigh on Feb 21, 2012 8:17 PM GMT via Android app reply actions
Credit to Fergie
He’s built a well-constructed squad considering the circumstances. It has deficiencies and isn’t on par with the squad from just a few seasons ago… but it has balanced depth still — with exception in midfield — to compete well on multiple fronts.
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by Gene Um on Feb 21, 2012 9:05 PM GMT via Android app up reply actions
Definitely...
Just look at Arsenal….the fact that we have been thriving is a testament to the all around genius of Fergie.
Btw, I wasn’t saying that you, Gene, thought we were dumb….I was saying that I think the club under estimates us as supporters and our ability to read between the lines. Sure, this has surfed the club to be a lot more frugal….which I say its a blessing in disguise. But when SAF and other club officials have said there is no value in the market, I’ve always taken it with a grain of salt.
by Amen Amachigh on Feb 21, 2012 9:56 PM GMT via Android app reply actions
I wish ONLY £50m appeared on my bank balance...
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by Gene Um on Feb 21, 2012 10:05 PM GMT via Android app reply actions
Have you got a usless CF to unload?
If so you may be in luck…..
by Sweet science on Feb 21, 2012 10:59 PM GMT up reply actions
I'd be lucky to get £20m for said useless CF
I’d still be content with that though
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Il say it again
If Torres became available for 20M… I would gladly take a punt on him. Without a doubt
by Sweet science on Feb 21, 2012 11:59 PM GMT up reply actions
I might too...
if I knew United had more than £50m in the bank :(
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I know, right?
:(
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God are the Glazers are shifty looking people
Avram Glazer has the face of someone that you should know right off the bat never to trust. Joel Glazer looks like someone who’s greedy enough to rob old lady’s for $10 and a pack of certs.
Shame those are the faces of the people that’s paying the bills.
Ovechkin-Leich-Semin: The greatest line in hockey..............................Tee Hee
Proud supporter of the following clubs: Pittsburgh Penguins, Erie Otters, Columbus Crew, Boston Celtics and the best football clubs in the land: Manchester United F.C.
The Manchester United Football Club: Winning countless trophies and making City fans jealous and full of envy since 1902.
by Bradley James McEachern on Feb 23, 2012 11:28 AM GMT up reply actions
This all probably means...
Don’t expect too much in the summer transfer window. Our failure to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages only hinders our (*) finances more.
(*) I like how I said “our” as it’s my money :)
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Maybe one big signing
Along with a youth imprt or two
Or maybe invest in youth like we did last summer. Minus a signing like Young of course
Not sure
by Sweet science on Feb 22, 2012 12:14 AM GMT up reply actions
Luka
Go all in for the little maestro. I actually don’t mean that. Wait…,yes I do
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by Gene Um on Feb 22, 2012 1:46 AM GMT via Android app up reply actions
A straight choice between Luuka or Mario G
Who would you plump for…. I would say the transfer fee would be in the ball park of 40M for each
by Sweet science on Feb 22, 2012 7:20 PM GMT up reply actions
Well there's nothing we can do about the Glazers
They didn’t do much really for the club (apart from the debts of course). But since their ownership we’ve mostly bought young and have them groomed to suit our style. Gone are the days where we spent big and made a mess out of them. It’s not like we’re Arsenal too – we’re still able to pay to keep our top players, and their experience will only help the younger ones.
As for the debts, well, 3/4 of the world are currently in debt anyway. It’s only serious when we’re no longer able to service the debts. That alone is kinda impossible, as United is the top cash cow in English football after all.
If there’s an oil tycoon willing to takeover our club I’d be the first to welcome him with open arms. But these sugar daddies are increasingly scarce, and MUST incapable of ousting the Glazers despite all efforts… We’ll have to be content with our current owners. And frankly speaking, there’s nothing much for us to hate on them too
by brandding on Feb 22, 2012 3:57 AM GMT via mobile reply actions
How much are our debt now???
I hope it’s less than $150m now..
Nope...
439 million pounds, down from 508 million from last year
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2104351/Manchester-United-revenue-175m.html
Ovechkin-Leich-Semin: The greatest line in hockey..............................Tee Hee
Proud supporter of the following clubs: Pittsburgh Penguins, Erie Otters, Columbus Crew, Boston Celtics and the best football clubs in the land: Manchester United F.C.
The Manchester United Football Club: Winning countless trophies and making City fans jealous and full of envy since 1902.
by Bradley James McEachern on Feb 23, 2012 11:08 AM GMT up reply actions
My $.02
Not sure why this always gets made into a meal by MUST – the Glazers’ model has always been built on using success to fund success. They have always taken the risk that the team needs to finish high in the table, advance far in the FA Cup, and advance far in the CL to fund the next business cycle. Since the team has been bought (2005), one can argue that we’re in our most successful period ever – 4 league titles, 3 League cups, and a CL along with two runners up finishes (that being said, one can argue against this point, as well).
Bottom line, as long as we keep winning, the team will be fine. (Not sure if this is kosher, but if you google AndersRed, he has a blog that’s financially oriented and can help illuminate some of these points further. Apologies if this is against TBB policy.)
The only time we will need to worry is when SAF steps down. SAF has proven enough people wrong enough times that he’ll do what he needs to do. Will the next coach be the same? It’s very tough in today’s day and age to get back-to-back coaches of such caliber.
I appreciate the passion of fans who rally against the Glazers – they make a number of excellent points (the ticket prices is a great starting point). However, folks like MUST really haven’t made any sort of dent. They talk of showing the owners their discontent with the green and gold scarves? IMHO, it’s borderline pathetic – you’ve already paid the ticket price to get in the stadium to show your discontent. Where’s the sense in that? Like brandding said, we’ll have to be content with our current owners.
As a fan of MLB’s Orioles, I certainly know what it’s like to be less than ecstatic with your owner, but my love for that team, and this one, is with the team – and not the owner.
I mostly thought like that, but I'm beginning to come around
usually when a firm takes on a big debt, it’s does it to increase it’s future productivity – you borrow a bunch of money to open a factory, or buy a great player, for example, and then that asset produces results that pay off the loan and then some.
But that’s not what happened here. All of these finance costs are going towards is the transfer of the club from one set of hands to the Glazers. That means they’re essentially extracting money from the club in order to pay for the privilege of acquiring the club’s future profits. Kinda skeezy really.
And while United have won a whole lot recently they’ve been somewhat lucky in doing so – their form has been good, but not dominant, and so they’ve been lucky that the other major powers have been in decline too (or are still in the first stages of getting ramped up in the case of City and possibly the Spurs). Also, United have only one dominant player now in Rooney, and are hanging on to the services of two aged and slightly fading stars in Giggs and Scholes. It’s great while they last, but that’s not going to be forever. That means to some extent we’re on borrowed time here, coasting a little off past assets.
I don’t mean this to be overly negative – we’ve been buying a lot of good young players who may yet develop into great things (cleverly, chicharito, etc) probably because they’re both more economical to acquire and leave more of a legacy from Fergie.
But we’re a wonky back, staved-off retirement or two, and any kind of injury whatsoever to Rooney away from dropping a fair way down the table
we’ve been buying a lot of good young players who may yet develop into great things (cleverly,
We didn’t buy Clev, unless it was when he was a real nipper
Good points. I wonder how far we would drop down if Rooney was out for an entire season. I still think we would finish top 4, but we would be no where near the title
by Sweet science on Feb 22, 2012 7:25 PM GMT up reply actions
I think it would be close but we wouldn't win the PL without him
Players like Welbeck and Chicha are great players, but Rooney is the type of player that pushes a team over the hump with his speed, agility, percision and ability to create space. There’s a reason why he’s the talisman of the team.
As for the Glazers, well the news is a bit concerning as a supporter. When I read things like how were over 400 million in debt and our revenue spending is just a few ticks above mid table clubs like Stoke and Sunderland, it raises a few alarm bells.
What’s more concerning that despite the expensive prices the Glazers charges for tickets and merchandise and the debt is still there.
With that said i’m not ready to hit the panic button just yet. Despite all the debt, revenue in the team is up by 18.5 million from last year and were still able to go out and spend, not as much as our crosstown rivals, but still. Not to mention the debt is down from 508 million to 439. As long as we regularily make the CL and the debt dosen’t get to the point where is financially handicaps us, well be fine.
Plus even if something happens and we ever end up in Administration, i’ll never abandon my club. People think that just because i’m a United fan living in Pittsburgh that i’m some kind of a glory hunter (i’ve even been accused of that on this very site once), that I only like United because there successful and the minute trouble comes, i’ll find some other PL to back. Wrong.
I like United not because of trophies, but because it speaks to me. I like United because of the Gaffer, his mantra of teamwork and that no one is above United, it’s attacking brand of football, and it’s players working together as one on the pitch. That’s why i’m a Red Devil, the team could go on a ten year trophy drought and i’ll never stop supporting them because the team and the players on it are something very special watch and Iant to be there to root them on.
United till I die!!
Ovechkin-Leich-Semin: The greatest line in hockey..............................Tee Hee
Proud supporter of the following clubs: Pittsburgh Penguins, Erie Otters, Columbus Crew, Boston Celtics and the best football clubs in the land: Manchester United F.C.
The Manchester United Football Club: Winning countless trophies and making City fans jealous and full of envy since 1902.
by Bradley James McEachern on Feb 23, 2012 11:22 AM GMT up reply actions
The Glazers
A perfect reason to NOT purchase any merchandise or tickets, but rather support them on TV or at opposing stadiums. Anyone else remember when they were readying their bid to purchase Man U? All signs pointed to the Glazers transferring their debt from themselves to the team… kind of how they did with Tampa Bay of the NFL. Some see this as perfect business sense, but I’m not a businessman — I’m a Red and couldn’t care less about the Glazers’ greedy worries. But, that seems to be the trend with foreign owners: they purchase a team simply so they can sell it for a profit a short while down the road. Let’s just hope they don’t leave United financially ravaged before it’s all said and done.
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