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David Gill: Sir Alex Ferguson is not facing financial restrictions at Manchester United
The money is there to spend and the Glazers are doing a good job...
28 May 2010 07:45:00
By Zack Wilson
Manchester United chief executive David Gill has guaranteed supporters that manager Sir Alex Ferguson is not being hampered in his transfer dealings this summer by the club's debt.
Ferguson has repeatedly stated that he has money to spend after the £80 million sale last summer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, and Gill has insisted that that indeed is the case.
"The money is there. People say Alex is saying that because he has to. Anyone who knows Alex Ferguson knows he wouldn't say that if he didn't mean what he said," the chief executive told The Independent.
"The money is definitely there. The results for the quarter ending 31 March [released today] will show the figures are about £95m cash.
"We are not in a situation whereby Alex is restricted in what he wants to do with the club and his modus operandi as a manager. We have never said: 'You can't do that, we have to pay interest [on the debt].'
"I can look you in the eye and say that. He would say exactly the same thing. People don't believe it. We never said to him: 'You can't go for that player because he's too much.'"
Since the Glazer family took over as owners at Old Trafford, debts have rocketed. United now reportedly support £504m of the £716m used by the Americans to buy the club.
"I don't think it is damaging and I think it is sustainable. It is ironic that the protests gathered momentum after an event [the bond issue that refinanced the £504m senior debt] that put the financing structure of the club on a better footing," he explained.
"The bond issue is clearly a better instrument. It is more flexible, it does not have the covenants associated with the bank debt we had at the time. The repayment date is 2017 rather than the next few years. The price for that was greater visibility and the document.
"Anyone who has worked in the City knows that when you are trying to raise money externally you have to be pretty clear about the risks [as United were in the document in January]. [Sir] Alex Ferguson retiring is clearly something that would be a major sea change at United and that is a risk. What that document did was bring all the risks together into a dozen pages and that is where we are at.
"I firmly believe that the financing we have in place and with the growth we have seen in our commercial operations – even with the interest [payments] of £45m [annually] – we can sustain that and still be a top, top club."
Gill also has no issue with the way in which the Glazers have reportedly taken money out of the club in order to finance the personal heavy interest, payment in kind (PIK) loans they used to purchase the club.
"All I can do is say what they [the Glazers] said in the offer document in 2005," he added.
"That money we have discussed, particularly from the [Cristiano] Ronaldo sale, is still there in the business and there is no recourse to it [from the Glazers]. When we present our budget to the board the budget is basically the results of Manchester United Ltd and the bond interest. Full stop.
"I don't wake up at night [worrying about the PIK loan]. That is what they put in place to acquire it. That is their responsibility. That is the situation. The money is in the club and they have no recourse. I have no reason to believe otherwise."
He also has no problem with the £9m in management fees apparently paid to themselves by members of the Glazer family.
"It is an easy point to pick up on. I was interested to see that Randy Lerner has taken money out of Aston Villa. That is not mentioned. He has taken some interest out. That's viewed as OK," he said.
"I wouldn't get hung up about it personally. This is where it all becomes judgemental.
"All I can say is we are investing in our team and contracts. That the owners have taken out that sum of money – I don't concern myself with it."
With the 'green and gold' campaign still evidently at work to oust the Glazer family, Gill is somewhat dismissive of fans' efforts to have the club run on the model of Barcelona, with supporters taking a significant stake in control.
He also expressed some doubt about the way in which the Red Knights consortium, headed by economist Jim O'Neill, were choosing to handle their campaign.
"It does make me laugh when people talk about going to a membership model and say, 'Look at Barcelona'," he added.
"I have great respect for the big Spanish clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, but why are they so successful? Yes, they have a membership model and they change the president every four years.
"But that is not why they are successful; it is because they sell their television rights individually. They get well over €100m [£103.4m annually].
"You look at the final league table and there are 25 points between Real Madrid in second and Valencia [who earn £38.7m] in third. They [Barcelona and Madrid] have got more money so, of course, they can attract the better players. We [United] have never done that and we don't get the credit for it.
"The owners [Glazers] come from a very collective selling market in the United States. Even more collective than it is over here. They have always been supportive of the Premier League collective.
"I know Jim, he is a passionate United fan. You know football attracts a lot of interest. It is regarded as 'sexy' – more so than writing an economic report about the developing world [O'Neill's day job].
"To have it [the Red Knights] so public is not the normal way things happen. In terms of broadcasting who is involved, what they are going to do and what they are going to pay is a somewhat strange way to go about it."
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Ferguson has repeatedly stated that he has money to spend after the £80 million sale last summer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, and Gill has insisted that that indeed is the case.
"The money is there. People say Alex is saying that because he has to. Anyone who knows Alex Ferguson knows he wouldn't say that if he didn't mean what he said," the chief executive told The Independent.
"The money is definitely there. The results for the quarter ending 31 March [released today] will show the figures are about £95m cash.
"We are not in a situation whereby Alex is restricted in what he wants to do with the club and his modus operandi as a manager. We have never said: 'You can't do that, we have to pay interest [on the debt].'
"I can look you in the eye and say that. He would say exactly the same thing. People don't believe it. We never said to him: 'You can't go for that player because he's too much.'"
Since the Glazer family took over as owners at Old Trafford, debts have rocketed. United now reportedly support £504m of the £716m used by the Americans to buy the club.
"I don't think it is damaging and I think it is sustainable. It is ironic that the protests gathered momentum after an event [the bond issue that refinanced the £504m senior debt] that put the financing structure of the club on a better footing," he explained.
"The bond issue is clearly a better instrument. It is more flexible, it does not have the covenants associated with the bank debt we had at the time. The repayment date is 2017 rather than the next few years. The price for that was greater visibility and the document.
"Anyone who has worked in the City knows that when you are trying to raise money externally you have to be pretty clear about the risks [as United were in the document in January]. [Sir] Alex Ferguson retiring is clearly something that would be a major sea change at United and that is a risk. What that document did was bring all the risks together into a dozen pages and that is where we are at.
"I firmly believe that the financing we have in place and with the growth we have seen in our commercial operations – even with the interest [payments] of £45m [annually] – we can sustain that and still be a top, top club."
Gill also has no issue with the way in which the Glazers have reportedly taken money out of the club in order to finance the personal heavy interest, payment in kind (PIK) loans they used to purchase the club.
"All I can do is say what they [the Glazers] said in the offer document in 2005," he added.
"That money we have discussed, particularly from the [Cristiano] Ronaldo sale, is still there in the business and there is no recourse to it [from the Glazers]. When we present our budget to the board the budget is basically the results of Manchester United Ltd and the bond interest. Full stop.
"I don't wake up at night [worrying about the PIK loan]. That is what they put in place to acquire it. That is their responsibility. That is the situation. The money is in the club and they have no recourse. I have no reason to believe otherwise."
He also has no problem with the £9m in management fees apparently paid to themselves by members of the Glazer family.
"It is an easy point to pick up on. I was interested to see that Randy Lerner has taken money out of Aston Villa. That is not mentioned. He has taken some interest out. That's viewed as OK," he said.
"I wouldn't get hung up about it personally. This is where it all becomes judgemental.
"All I can say is we are investing in our team and contracts. That the owners have taken out that sum of money – I don't concern myself with it."
With the 'green and gold' campaign still evidently at work to oust the Glazer family, Gill is somewhat dismissive of fans' efforts to have the club run on the model of Barcelona, with supporters taking a significant stake in control.
He also expressed some doubt about the way in which the Red Knights consortium, headed by economist Jim O'Neill, were choosing to handle their campaign.
"It does make me laugh when people talk about going to a membership model and say, 'Look at Barcelona'," he added.
"I have great respect for the big Spanish clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, but why are they so successful? Yes, they have a membership model and they change the president every four years.
"But that is not why they are successful; it is because they sell their television rights individually. They get well over €100m [£103.4m annually].
"You look at the final league table and there are 25 points between Real Madrid in second and Valencia [who earn £38.7m] in third. They [Barcelona and Madrid] have got more money so, of course, they can attract the better players. We [United] have never done that and we don't get the credit for it.
"The owners [Glazers] come from a very collective selling market in the United States. Even more collective than it is over here. They have always been supportive of the Premier League collective.
"I know Jim, he is a passionate United fan. You know football attracts a lot of interest. It is regarded as 'sexy' – more so than writing an economic report about the developing world [O'Neill's day job].
"To have it [the Red Knights] so public is not the normal way things happen. In terms of broadcasting who is involved, what they are going to do and what they are going to pay is a somewhat strange way to go about it."
Become a fan of Goal.com UK's Facebook fan page for all the latest news and insight into everything related to the beautiful game!
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|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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