How the Glazer family cost Manchester United £1.2bn

The Glazer family purchased Manchester United Football Club on June 28, 2005, and it was complete.

It loaded the club with debt, and over the next 20 years, BBC Verifyhas found about £1.2bn has been spent on debt interest, debt repayments, dividends and fees to the family.

The Glazers left the club with £604 million in debt as a result of the deal, which they financed by borrowing millions of dollars from hedge funds.

Due to United’s financial repercussions, it was a very content takeover from the beginning.

The Glazer family paid $ 790 million on June 22 to remove the club from the London stock market and to buy out its exiting shareholders.

However, the club, which had previously had only £50m in borrowings, was primarily funded by borrowings and subsequently incurred £604m in debt.

The club’s board had issued a warning in April 2005 about the dangers of this much debt because it “didn’t have any prudent judgment” and “could lead to a downward spiral in both team and financial performance.”

Fans’ protests following the takeover continue to this day.

Calculations by BBC Verify- based on an analysis of the club’s published accounts and stock market announcements – show that since the Glazer family’s acquisition of the club in June 2005 it has paid out:

This implies that between 2005 and 2024, the club lost an estimated £1.187 billion in cash, which is reasonable to say would not have happened without the Glazer takeover.

Because it does not include various fees to banks, financial advisors, or other financing costs, such as currency hedging, it is also a conservative estimate.

Additionally, it does not include the directors’ fees that have been paid by the club.

The Glazers’ directors have also received £125 million in compensation since the club’s directors re-listed a portion of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.

It’s likely that about £63 million of this sum, which included the directors, went to them.

The Glazer family can sincerely acknowledge that over the past 20 years, the club’s value has increased significantly.

The club’s implied market value reflects this.

United was purchased by The Glazers for £790 million. In May 2025, the club’s stock market implied value exceeded £3. 2 billion.

And the club’s financial terms, which Sir Jim Ratcliffe sold to him in 2024, suggest a total sale worth of £4.3 billion.

Under the Glazers, United have won 15 major league titles, but just five of them have come since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013.

The Premier League finished 15th last season, which is the lowest place they have ever placed in a campaign since 1974-75 when they were in the second tier.

The club’s quarterly accounts, which were released on Friday, acknowledged this.

In 2005, the Glazers primarily used borrowed funds to purchase the club, but their accounts reveal they also invested £273 million in own funds.

They haven’t, however, since made any initial investments.

The squad’s investments came from the club’s own internal cash resources, as well as from debt secured by the club directly and through the club’s ownership shares.

The investment also added a lot of value to the family.

The Glazer family sold £555 million worth of club shares between 2012 and 2022, including the proceeds from a £150 million listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.

Manchester United PLC’s total gross debt was only £50 million in 2005.

The Glazers’ leveraged buyout increased the gross debt in 2006 to £604 million, which was partially secured by the club’s assets and partially by the ownership shares of the Glazer family.

However, the club’s gross debt was still £547 million in 2024. This figure is almost £1 billion, according to other debt-related measures that take the cost of transfers into account.

Ratcliffe now has about a 30% ownership stake and control over the football operations after the Glazer family sold £732 million in shares to him in 2024.

Ratcliffe also contributed a further £236 million of his own money to the club as part of the agreement to help pay for the club’s Old Trafford stadium’s infrastructure.

This additional investment was not financed by additional debt.