Roy Keane teased Gary Neville about how the Glazer family first took full control of Manchester United in 2005, with a racehorse named Rock of Gibraltar at the centre of the club's takeover
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Roy Keane brought up the Rock of Gibraltar tale on Stick to Football(Image: Stick to Football)
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As another Manchester United crisis talk raged on, Roy Keane was in a jovial mood. "How did the Glazers get involved in the first place?" the former United captain cheekily asked ex-team-mate Gary Neville on Stick to Football, knowing full well the answer.
"No one wants to talk about the horse. Can we talk about the horse? The horse is key."
Yes, the horse. More specifically Rock of Gibraltar, the successful racehorse co-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson which unwittingly played a role in the Glazers buying United back in 2005.
So what's the story behind Rock of Gibraltar? And why, as Keane says, was it key?
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During United's long-gone glory years, Rock of Gibraltar was also in its pomp. The stallion was named the European Horse of the Year in 2002, and was the first horse to claim seven successive Group 1 wins in the Northern Hemisphere.
Rock of Gibraltar's achievements earned owners Ferguson and Susan Magnier £1.2million in prize money. Susan is the wife of horse-racing tycoon John Magnier, a former shareholder at United alongside his partner in investment vehicle Cubic Expressions, JP McManus.
And while things ran smoothly for some time, trouble was ahead. Upon Rock of Gibraltar's retirement, Ferguson and Magnier became embroiled in a dispute over the horse's breeding rights through Coolmore.
The legendary United manager decided to make the remarkable move of taking his bosses to court, as their close relationship quickly turned sour. Naturally, the Premier League club were caught up in the legal spat.
ASCOT - 18 JUNE: Sir Alex Ferguson leads in his horse Rock Of Gibraltar after the it landed The St. James Palace Stakes during Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in England on June 18, 2002. (photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images)
Sir Alex Ferguson co-owned Rock of Gibraltar, but there was a dispute over how much he was entitled to(Image: Julian Herbert/Getty Images)
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Magnier and McManus infamously submitted a list of 99 questions to United in order to find out about the financial state of the club. They even threatened to take legal action against United.
In the background, Florida to be precise, the Glazer family were keeping an eye on developments as fellow shareholders, with figurehead and dad-of-six Malcolm having built up a 30 per cent stake. With Ferguson not budging, the Americans made an offer for Magnier and McManus' shares, which they'd recently increased to 28.7 per cent, and the pair accepted.
By the end of 2005, the Glazers were in full control at Old Trafford after taking their ownership to 98 per cent through a leveraged buyout, piling debt onto the club. It's worth noting that in June 2023, the Premier League amended its Owners' and Directors' Test to ban fully-leveraged takeovers.
Ferguson eventually settled outside of court with Magnier and McManus for a sum of around £2.5m. In his 2013 autobiography, the Scot explained: "He ran in my colours under an agreement I had with the Coolmore racing operation in Ireland. My understanding was that I had a half-share in the ownership of the horse; theirs was that I would be entitled to half the prize money.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JUNE 30: Joel Glazer (left), Avram Glazer (left) and Bryan Glazer (centre), sons of new Manchester United owner Malcolm Glazer and new members of the board of directors pose at Old Trafford on June 30 2005 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
The Glazer family purchased John Magnier and JP McManus' stake to become majority shareholders(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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"But it was resolved. The matter was closed when we reached a settlement agreeing that there had been a misunderstanding on both sides. Obviously, there was a potential clash between my racing interests and the ownership of the club, and when a man stood up at the AGM and insisted that I resign, there was awkwardness for me.
"I have to say that at no point was I side-tracked from my duties as manager of Manchester United. It didn't affect my love of racing and I am on good terms now with John Magnier, the leading figure at Coolmore."
Under the Glazer family, United have been on a 21-year decline. From the second peak of Ferguson's era in the late 2000s, to finishing 15th in the Premier League just two seasons ago, their popularity has only gone one way - as have United's results.
But had Ferguson not had the fallout - like he did with Keane a year later - then United could've been running a very different race.
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