BY CIARAN CONNEELY, SPORTS STAFFER
On Dec. 24, James Ratcliffe and his company agreed to a deal to acquire 25% of Manchester United from the Glazer family.
With the English Premier League having approved the deal, the Glazers should be remembered as the worst owners in sports.
The Glazers became the majority owners of the club in 2005. United has won 20 trophies under their ownership, but the Glazers cannot take credit.
Of those trophies, Alexander Ferguson won 14 as the head coach. Since his retirement in 2013, United mustered six trophies in a decade. The club has stagnated since 2013, not winning a Premier League or UEFA Champions League title.
The Glazers must be held responsible for United’s downfall.
The problems began when the family bought the club. The Glazers purchased United on a leveraged deal, using loans secured against the club’s assets.
Before the Glazers took over, United had remained debt free for 75 years. But the leveraged buyout put the club in $787 million of debt, which has increased to $1.3 billion.
But the Glazers’ financial exploits continue.
United has paid them $209 million in dividends since 2016. No other Premier League club pays its owners dividends. The Glazers see United as a cash cow, taking money from the club as they please.
The Glazers’ greed doesn’t end there.
In 1995, the Glazers purchased the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the team has won two Super Bowls since then, Tampa citizens paid a price for success.
Malcolm Glazer proposed a plan to build a new stadium for the team, on the condition that he would pay half, while the Tampa community would pay the rest.
After initial backlash, politicians in Tampa eventually passed a tax increase to fund Raymond James Stadium.
From placing United in $1.3 billion of debt to making fans pay for a stadium, the Glazers have proven themselves to be the worst owners in sports.
conneecp21@bonaventure.edu
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