David Beckham and other members of Manchester United's famous 'Class of '92' squad are poised to front a £2billion takeover of the club, it has been claimed.
The takeover is believed to be funded by the oil-rich Qatari royal family and brokered by Beckham - who spent several months playing for Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain before retiring last season.
Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt are said to be in detailed talks to become the frontmen of a multi-billion consortium hoping to buy a 90 per cent stake in the club from Americans Joel and Avram Glazer, who purchased Manchester United in 2005.
The claims, made in The Sun today, have not been confirmed by the former players and a spokesman for the club said it had not received any bids. Shares in Manchester United rose by $16.14 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday amid speculation over the prospective takeover bid.
The club is currently valued at $2.6 billion, equal to £1.6 billion, despite having one of their worst seasons in living memory - including losing 3-0 to local rivals Manchester City on Tuesday.
The club's underachievement this season has seen players past and present complain publicly about the way the club is performing.
Following the defeat to Manchester City, striker Wayne Rooney admitted that rivals are no longer afraid of coming to Old Trafford anymore because United are simply not good enough.
Rooney was left to reflect on another poor performance after admitting the team had lost their Old Trafford 'fear factor'.
MANCHESTER UNITED'S CURRENT OWNERS HAVE BEEN UNPOPULAR WITH FANS SINCE THEIR 2005 TAKEOVER LANDED THE CLUB WITH HUGE DEBTS
Many
Manchester United fans have been unhappy with the ownership of the
Glazer family since they purchased a controlling stake in the club for
£810million in 2005.
The initial protests came as a result of the takeover itself, as the Glazers performed a highly leveraged buyout - effectively dumping £525million debt on the club overnight.
Manchester United's board had earlier branded the Glazer family's plans 'aggressive'.
Although they paid £270million from their own funds, the rest of the money used to purchase Manchester United came in the form of loans - the majority of which were secured against the club's assets - which have since incurred interest payments of more than £60million a year.
In the four years up to June 2009, when Manchester United last published their accounts - the club became liable to pay more than £325million in interest alone, not including interest not paid.
This increased the debt the Glazers loaded on to the club to about £700million.
Many supporters felt the Glazer family - who also own the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers - had taken a great risk in their financial dealings.
Fans accused them of using Manchester United purely for financial gain and to remove debt from their US-business interests, adding that they had failed to understand the significance of owning one of the most successful and best supported clubs in the world. The Glazers have always denied this to be the case.
As a result of the anger, from 2009 supporter groups encouraged match-going fans to wear green and gold - the colours of Newton Heath FC - which was the original name for Manchester United.
The protest was seen as a way to remind the Glazers of the long history of the club and to remind them there was more at stake than money.
Green and gold scarves and hats have become a symbol of resistance against the Glazers ever since, and remain a common sight at the club's 76,000-seater stadium Old Trafford.
The initial protests came as a result of the takeover itself, as the Glazers performed a highly leveraged buyout - effectively dumping £525million debt on the club overnight.
Manchester United's board had earlier branded the Glazer family's plans 'aggressive'.
Debt: The Glazer family (Avram left and Joel
right) performed a highly leveraged takeover of Manchester United -
effectively dumping £525million debt on the club overnight
Although they paid £270million from their own funds, the rest of the money used to purchase Manchester United came in the form of loans - the majority of which were secured against the club's assets - which have since incurred interest payments of more than £60million a year.
In the four years up to June 2009, when Manchester United last published their accounts - the club became liable to pay more than £325million in interest alone, not including interest not paid.
This increased the debt the Glazers loaded on to the club to about £700million.
Many supporters felt the Glazer family - who also own the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers - had taken a great risk in their financial dealings.
Fans accused them of using Manchester United purely for financial gain and to remove debt from their US-business interests, adding that they had failed to understand the significance of owning one of the most successful and best supported clubs in the world. The Glazers have always denied this to be the case.
Unpopular: Supporter groups have taken to
wearing green and gold in protest at Glazer ownership. The colours were
originally worn by Newton Heath FC, who changed their name to Manchester
United in 1902
As a result of the anger, from 2009 supporter groups encouraged match-going fans to wear green and gold - the colours of Newton Heath FC - which was the original name for Manchester United.
The protest was seen as a way to remind the Glazers of the long history of the club and to remind them there was more at stake than money.
Green and gold scarves and hats have become a symbol of resistance against the Glazers ever since, and remain a common sight at the club's 76,000-seater stadium Old Trafford.
Troubled: The tactics used by David Moyes (pictured) have led to fan and even player unrest at United
Just over a week after describing their 3-0 defeat by arch-rivals Liverpool as one of the worst days he had ever had in football, the England international found himself trying to explain a similar scoreline at home to neighbours City.
The poor performance has led to rumours the club's owners may be happy to walk away.
'The Glazers have lost interest. Everyone knows the club is effectively up for sale,' a source told The Sun.
Middle Eastern bidders have reportedly approached the Glazers several times about a prospective takeover, with the only sticking point on each occasion being the price, the newspaper reported.
In 2010 the club were subject to a takeover bid from a local group dubbed the Red Knights, but they also failed because they couldn't meet the Glazers' asking price.
Earlier this week Paul Scholes gave credence to rumours of discontent at the club when he gave a scathing review of current manager David Moyes during an appearance on Sky Sports.
Despite saying the club needs to stick by Moyes, Scholes was highly critical of the current crop of players and the tactics being deployed in the post Sir Alex Ferguson-era.
No comments :
Post a Comment