Man United are thought to be in around £716 million in debt, which probably has gone up. We sold Cristiano Ronaldo during the summer for £80 million, it was expected that we would go for a world-class player but that didn’t happen. Even though we have money problems, apparently we can spend money.
Gill said:
“We didn’t get Benzema but we did offer 35 million Euros”So by the sound of it, Sir Alex does have money.
“[We made] just one phone call to the states [to the Glazer family], saying we would like to make an offer of 35 million euros and they said ‘fine’
“ We did it, but Benzema went to Real Madrid for something like over 40 million euros. Sir Alex has gone on record saying that was too much. But if I went to Joel Glazer and said ‘Alex wants a player, can we have the money?’, the answer would be an unequivocal yes. They have demonstrated it.”
“From my own personal perspective, we have no doubt that they [the Glazers] would support whatever we require.
“They will only get value back by ensuring the team continues to be successful, continues to attract exciting players and continues to produce results off the pitch.”
Gill was also asked if he could spend the money from the sale of Ronaldo, his answer was:
Gill said:
"Without doubt. We used £15m to buy Antonio Valencia but we have well over £100m sitting in the bank."’Over £100 million sitting in the bank?’ Is that believable? If United did have that amount of money, surely some of it would go onto paying off the debts? Honestly, I don’t have a clue whether we have money there or not but it isn’t being spent and I do have a feeling that this is to try and keep the Man United fans quiet.
The transfer window closes today and I wouldn’t expect any news from Man United, these comments come at a funny time. If this was said before or at the beginning of the transfer window then Man United fans would have expected a big name signing, it’s too late now.
What I do know is that this interview won’t stop the Man United fans from protesting, it isn’t going to shut us up and we will carry on campaigning to get the Glazers out of the club whether there is money to spend or not.
I suppose we will have to wait and see what happens in the summer.
There is a difference between being in debt and not having money. The Glazers took huge amounts of money in loans to buy the team, but there is still a steady, large cash flow and with the loans being so long-term, a relatively small amount needs paid.
Functionally, United are under little fiscal pressure at the moment. If their success rate goes down, though, the pressure will pile on like no other. See Leeds for that.
It's a risky game to play, but played properly can be very very successful for all involved.
I understand what you are saying, it is risky but I don't believe there is £100m in the bank, there may be some money but not that amount.
The last thing we want is the success rate to go down and like you said, Leeds are the perfect example.