Manchester, England (AP)—Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson defended owner Malcolm Glazer on Friday, a day after the club reported a debt nearing $1 billion.
Glazer, who also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, restructured payments of the loan to buy the club two years ago, which took $66.9 million annually out of United’s profits, according to 2007-08 financial report revealed Thursday.
The club announced before the financial release that no officials would be available for comment. But Ferguson has never had any complaints about Glazer, who took over Man United in 2005, because he has been backed on player signings in the transfer market.
“Their support has never changed,” Ferguson said Friday. “I do not know what these figures tell you. There has always been debt since Malcolm Glazer took over the club. Most buyouts are like that. But there is no change as far as I am concerned.”
While United’s profits after winning the Premier League and Champions League rose to $118.3 million in the fiscal year ending June 2008, the overall debt is $954.6 million.
According to Forbes magazine this week, United is worth $1.87 billion and the world’s most valuable soccer club.
Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com