Manchester United, the club of Busby Babes, Best-Law-Charlton, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s dominance, finds itself in a financial catastrophe. And who’s to blame? The Glazers.
For two decades, United have been drained dry by the Glazer family, with a staggering debt now standing at £714m. While City spend £172m on fresh talent in a single window, United are scrapping together pennies for unknown prospects. The decline has been slow, painful, and entirely avoidable.
Enter Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The billionaire INEOS boss saw the wreckage and decided enough was enough. His 27.7% stake wasn’t just an investment it was a rescue mission. But make no mistake, it’s coming at a brutal cost.
Ratcliffe has slashed jobs, axed Ferguson’s costly ambassador role, cut ambassador salaries, and even scrapped the £100 Christmas bonus for staff. The ruthless cuts make him look like Scrooge, but let’s be real this is the Glazers’ mess he’s cleaning up.
Transfers? United have burned cash on players who don’t fit the system. Last summer alone, £200m was spent on signings that Erik ten Hag wanted. Fast forward a few months, and Ten Hag was out, replaced by Ruben Amorim who had zero say in the squad he inherited.
Meanwhile, United’s rivals operate like a well-oiled machine. City rake in cash from smart sales and reinvest. United, on the other hand, let Paul Pogba leave for free after signing him for £89.3m. That’s not bad luck. That’s incompetence.
United fans are used to false dawns, but Ratcliffe isn’t here to mess around. He says it’ll take two years to fix this disaster and turn United into a financial powerhouse again. The dream? By 2027, United will be a well-run club, capable of competing at the top again.
Hope or just another false promise? Only time will tell. But for now, all eyes are on Ratcliffe as he fights to drag United out of the financial abyss the Glazers created.
