The Glazer family, the owners of Manchester United, are struggling to refinance their enormous debts amid concerns about the impact they are having on the club. The Times understands that the Americans have been trying unsuccessfully to secure a refinancing package for part of the club’s £699 million debt for months, having failed in 2007 and last year, because of the bleak global economic climate. Fans’ groups have cast doubt over whether they will ever see the £80 million raised from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal forward, to Real Madrid last summer reinvested in the squad. Dragan Djuric, the Partizan Belgrade president, meanwhile claimed this week that United pulled the plug on a deal to sign Adem Ljajic, the Serbia Under-21 midfield player, because “maybe they are in financial crisis”. United dismissed Djuric’s claims and a spokesman for the Glazer family has maintained publicly that there is plenty of money available for Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, to spend on players, but supporters are unlikely to be pacified until they see the arrival of some big names or evidence that the spiralling debt is under control. The main concern is understood to centre around the £175.5 million worth of debt that the Glazers are personally responsible for, not the £518.7 million of loans secured against the club. It is these so-called Payment In Kind (PIK) notes, money borrowed from US hedge funds that “rolls up” at an annual interest rate of 14.25 per cent, that the Americans are believed to have been trying to refinance. The intention was always to pay off these loans within a few years of the takeover in May 2005, but while they managed to redeem some of the original PIK debt of £275 million, the credit crunch has made this difficult. By the time the debt matures in 2017, it will stand at £580 million unless the Glazers can pay part or all of it off before then, or secure a preferential rate of interest. With the club. Glazer family hit the wall over refinancing of Manchester United | Manchester United - Times Online
No there are loads of people and loads of threads... but i think this set of people are bored of them! They have enough threads.
To all those tedious pricks that go on about being scared for our future; "Ultimately, they could seize control of the club should revenues plummet." Which means that if the Glazers miss a payment the banks will take control of the club unless the deal is renegotiated.
Let the 'OMG..ONOES!!' begin. Naw its not that bad..Our revenues will always be enormous for the brand we are..although if dont win enough trophies it could mean we wont have much money to spend for the squad...we won the league and CC last year..and reached the champions league finals..our revenues were gigantic..now as long as were in and around that state..we should be fine..the league is most important with TV revenues and all..and not to mention merchandise..which would take a considerable hit since Ronnie left..but it isnt as bad as when Becks left which almost left a black hole in merchandise sales.Our revenues are biggern than any club in the world atm..any top financer would understand that its nowhere near a lost cause as long as the club itself is producing huge revenues..we generated nearly 220 mln pounds last year..that is just gigantic for a football club!..Glazers say theyre refinancing at 40 mln pounds a year..so fans wonder...then why is the debt increasing?? Well for one,the current economic climate is devastating which means other avenues of refinancing is shut down..which means they must soley use the club itself to refinance..other than the 120 odd mln quid the glazer family personally owes to the banks..Im not sure how all the economics comes into play here.. but lets get a few things straight..the glazers arent idiots..theyre all very good businessmen..if the cash crisi didnt come along..AIG would still be right up there..no one really saw it coming.. the most evil thing they can do..is refinance their own debts with the club..which would be tragic. But lets hope theyre sensible..i think they are..the glazers are in a pinch atm and its understandable..theyre not Tycoons like Abramaovic and Carson Yueng.. Lets all be a bit patient..if the debt goes beyond a certain limit.as in the 850 mln mark..then we know theyre financial caput..which means the United board will look for a sell out..and you know what happens when that is called..ARABS!..lol it leads to unstability..and im not sure even the arabs would be too keen to buy a club with such a ginormous debt..but Manchester United is a global brand..we wont collapse like Leeds did..were too big a business for that..there will always be investors or consortiums vying for the throne here..lets hope if do get new owners..theyre not like Palermo's cheifs..if so were fecked!..but im more than sure United will not collapse..its too big for that to happen.
Dyu realise Leeds doesnt even come close to being as big as Manchester United? Not even close..they never came close..and never will..Manchester United is as big as Real Madrid and Barcelona all over the world.. be it Brazil or Norway,China or North America..everyone knows of United..and players would jump at the chance to play for us..Leeds doesnt come close..its an insult if you compare their scenario with ours.
I think too many people on football forums are under 25 years of age and that they are spending too much time playing Football Manager. Therefore, they dream of BIG signing making unbelievable impact in the club in just a matter of weeks. However, this is not what reality is about. I really like it when there are more English players playing for English clubs. The current scenario gives an opportunity for just that - to start using more home grown talents. For most of the FM fan boys this scenario does not enter their head to stay their for more than 5 minutes. They dream of titles, cups, players scoring or assiting 35-a-season, winning Player of the World rewards, you name it. This is the hard thing to go by for club owners, managers, playing and non-playing staff. All clubs nowadays have thousands of supporters like that. All they do is just increase pressure by their unrealistic demands and farely stupid and irrelevant transfer policy desires.
good point lyubs.. PLus we all know the master of masters when it comes to bargains..Fergie is waiting for the right deal imo.. even if he isnt..i'd love it if more of our reserve lads come through..we have a talented bunch atm.
