Man Utd are still burdened by over a billion pounds of debt as a result of the Glazers' leveraged buyout in 2005.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer.(Image: 2024 Crystal Pix/MB Media)
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Manchester United's latest financial numbers confirm the club's debt is close to reaching the £1.3billion mark. United announced their financial figures for the second quarter on Wednesday afternoon.
United have a rolling credit facility - akin to a credit card - which stands at £295.7m, an additional £27m on the same period last year. There is also huge legacy debt from the Glazer family's leveraged buyout in 2005, meaning the club owed a shocking £1.29bn at the end of last year.
When the Glazers became majority owners at Old Trafford, the club's debt levels stood at £12m. United's football net debt is defined by UEFA as borrowings and net transfer payments.
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In August, football finance blogger Swiss Ramble placed Everton and Tottenham above Manchester United in his debt league, but both of those clubs have borrowed to build new stadiums.
United are planning to build a new 100,000 seater Old Trafford by 2030/31 at an estimated cost of around £2bn. The club have not confirmed how the stadium project will be funded.
Fans have continued to protest against the Glazer family, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has become a target. Last year, Ratcliffe said he would walk away from United if he got "abused" in the same way the Glazer family have
Speaking to The Times, Ratcliffe said: "It [the abuse] can be unpleasant. And I've probably failed on the having fun front. I mean, I can put up with it for a while. I don't mind being unpopular because I get that nobody likes seeing Manchester United down where they are, and nobody likes the decisions we're having to make at the moment.
"If I draw a bit of the ire, I can put up with that. But I'm no different to the average person. It's not nice, particularly for friends and family. So, eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I'd have to say, look, enough is enough guys, let somebody else do this.
"They can't really come to a match, the Glazers. They've retreated into the shadows a bit now, so I'm getting all the bloody stick. We bought in and I haven't seen them since.
"It's, 'Thank you, Jim, you're doing a really good job.' At the moment, I don't have security, I don't have to walk around like that. But it would defeat the object, wouldn't it? You couldn't tolerate it at that level, it just wouldn't be fun."