Meet the Family Who STOLE England's Biggest Club | Man United Takeover Documentary

it could have been just another ordinary day on the planet but that evening right before the markets closed the biggest heist in football history took place on the London Stock Exchange an obscure American Family mainly unknown to the public took control of England's biggest club and over the next 20 years the world watched as Manchester United became the ultimate Cash Cow exploited for profit while the team's performances on the pitch kept sinking lower and lower so how did these guys who knew nothing about football stick around for two decades and make billions and what role did Alex Ferguson play in this terrible robbery of United fans worldwide whose principles turned out to be weaker than self-interest my name is rousan and it's time to pull the trigger so buckle up this was an active protest phase by Manchester United fans against the new owners in early 2005 however back in the fall of 2003 no no one in Manchester even paid much attention to the new investor of the club an American who bought a modest 3% stake for 9 million pounds by that time United shares had been freely traded on the stock exchange for more than 10 years and were changing hands from one investor to another who for the most part pursued purely speculative goals they sought to capitalize on the growth of the club's Securities which grew in line with its success in the '90s plus it was in 2003 that the Press seriously discussed the potential purchase of United by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich who eventually chose another club so this new small shareholder did not arouse much interest but this mysterious non-public American billionaire was strikingly different from other [Music] investors during the construction of his business Empire Malcolm Glazer proved himself to be the most prudent and tough person he had built his fortune in real estate showing himself Sharp strateg IC and ruthless regarding business Glazer specialized in leveraged buyouts borrowing money to acquire properties while using those same properties as collateral incredibly he often didn't invest a single penny of his own money this practical and calculated approach to business became a family trait all of his children held key roles in his business Empire and followed his methods around a decade before targeting United the Glazer family ventured into American football for a record $92 million the glazers bought a struggling NFL team from Florida the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the new ownership the Bucks were consistently mediocre failing to qualify for the playoffs for more than a decade however 20 years later the club won the Super Bowl twice moved to a new stadium acquired an Ultra Modern training complex and other infrastructure and most importantly increased in price by more than 25 times this is absolutely nuts but don't think that buying the Bucks was some kind of impulsive splurge on an expensive toy or driven purely by a love for football absolutely not the glazers had a clear strategy after buying the club Malcolm lobbied to construct a new 70,000 seat Arena at the expense of the city budget threatening local authorities to move the team to another city which is common in American football the city didn't have the budget for such a massive project so Glazer turned up the heat he openly met with officials from other cities and invited the press to stir up rumors about a possible relocation facing the risk of losing the team Tampa caved to fund the stadium city officials introduced an entirely new tax this example shows how far the glazers were willing to go to protect and grow their business interests now back to Manchester within a year of acquiring that initial 3% the family is slowly building up its portfolio still buying up shares in small packages and the fans were the first to sound the alarm on the club's board of directors at that time the fans owned 177% of the club's shares through an organization called shareholders United and had their representative on the board of directors they urged the rest of the board to pay closer attention to this new aggressive investor they worried that unlike Abramovich the glazers wouldn't spend their own money on the club but instead pass the costs on to the fans obviously considering the history of the construction of a stadium with government money in Florida in the fall of 2004 the board of directors stood with the fans and rejected the Glazer's offer to buy the club but they didn't back down instead the family switched to a sneakier strategy buying up shares in small chunks slowly chipping away at the board's unity and convincing more and more shareholders to sell by the end of 2004 the family's stake in the club had already hit 30% at this point the smaller quiet purchases were no longer an option big shareholders were now involved and any new moves were bound to attract attention and that's when Sir Alex Ferguson stepped into the spotlight Fergie started his career in Manchester with the main goal of breaking Liverpool's dominance and by the early 9s that mission was well on its way to becoming a reality it was a truly great decade for United the decade during which the club gained a foothold in the status of the country's Main team meanwhile Ferguson knighted for his massive contributions to English football became one of the most influential figures not just at United but across England off the pitch Sir Alex had a big passion for horse racing that hobby led him to build close ties with two of United's major investors John mager and JP mcmanis who were heavily involved in breeding racehorses in fact they became shareholders of the club precisely on a tip from Fergie who could actually guarantee asset growth through successful team management and achievement of results in gratitude the businessman presented Fergie with a valuable race horse the rock of jalter the horse was officially registered under Ferguson's name raced in United's colors and was closely linked to the legendary manager but in reality magir and mcmanis were still the true owners and that's where the trouble started in 2003 the horse which earned several million pounds a year in prize money alone was valued at a staggering 50 million when Ferguson discovered this he presented his billionaire friends with his claims to ownership and part of the profits and not only for the horse but also for the breeding program of the stud Farm where the stallions of this horse were bred the program was also estimated at several tens of millions magnier and mcmanis however just laughed off Fergy's demands brushing them aside as ridiculous furious at their dismissive attitude Sir Alex ignored advice from many club members who warned to avoid a scandal and he went to court of course Fergie had no chance in this litigation but he was such a stubborn man that he simply could not stand it what he didn't fully grasp though was the kind of opponents he was dealing with magnier and mcmanis often called the coolmore mafia were known for being incredibly powerful and ruthless in Ireland taking them to court in Dublin their home turf was seen as a personal insult and they were determined to make Ferguson regret it first they launched a fullscale PR campaign to damage his reputation using their connections in the media they painted a completely different picture of the legendary coach exposing some less than flattering aspects of his life off the pitch the BBC even aired a documentary hinting that Fergie regularly used his son Jason a football agent to handle United's transfer deals raising questions about whether the Ferguson family had personally profited from Club business on top of that magnier and mcmanis turned up the heat by presenting United share shh holders with detailed documents exposing the club's financial and transfer dealings suggesting Ferguson had blurred the lines between personal and professional interests they pushed for a full audit and demanded stricter rules for financial transparency when details of this board meeting leaked to the press the club had no choice but to publicly distance itself from Jason Ferguson and temporarily limit sir Alex's influence over transfer decisions but for the Irish Duo that still wasn't enough as they prepared for the up coming Court battle businessmen shifted to an even more aggressive strategy they started buying up more United shares the true motives behind this move remain unclear as the key players never fully explained their actions however many insiders believe the two businessmen were no longer satisfied with simply damaging Ferguson's reputation they wanted to hit him where it hurt most his career it was like he bid off more than he could chew by challenging them and they wouldn't let him get away with it they came up with the crazy easy idea of getting him out of the club at first it sounded impossible after all this was Sir Alex Ferguson the man who restored United's glory after 30 years and became one of the most successful managers in the world for decades but magneir and mcmanis had a plan by increasing their stake they hoped to gain enough influence on the board of directors to block an extension of Fergie's contract which was set to expire in the summer of 2005 however if there's one thing you should know about Sir Alex he never backed down from a fight using his massive influence among fans Fergie rallied the shareholders United group to his side they backed him in board meetings and organized protests against his opponents and don't forget while all this drama was unfolding the glazers were quietly buying up shares of the club bit by bit flying completely under the radar by the end of 2004 the boardroom was split into three major groups each with its own goals and influence but then as the New Year rolled in something completely unexpected happened the coolmore mafia suddenly flipped their position first they settled their lawsuit with Ferguson out of court Sir Alex came out on top walking away with £2. 5 million pound in exchange for dropping any future claims on the horse and then just a couple of months later magnier and McManus agree to sell their stake in the club to the glazers but what happened why did they turn around so abruptly turns out the Irishmen were playing their own game the entire time trying to squeeze as much profit as possible they took advantage of the Glazer's early share buying spree and stirred up drama with Ferguson to drive down the stock price of a club caught up in scandals once the dust settled and prices started climbing again they cashed out to lock in a tidy profit at just the right moment but that's not the only twist Sir Alex also made a sharp U-turn after originally backing the fans and opposing the glazers take over he suddenly switched sides faced with powerful enemies Ferguson realized he needed allies and found them in the glazers they promised him more power and freedom within the club along with no more audits or investigations into transfers it was a win-win deal the glazers needed someone as influential as Fergie to help calm the angry fans spoiler alert Ferguson couldn't fully pull it off many fans felt betrayed and some even accused him of selling out around the same time the fans started fighting back back they knew a takeover was coming and they were determined to stop it United shareholders managed to secure a 100 million pound loan which they plan to use to buy a blocking stake in the club fans formed a trust with another supporters group reaching out to 30,000 of the smallest shareholders the idea was to gather all these small Stakes into one big trust to stand up to the glazers on top of that the chairman of shareholders United wrote directly to the Irish investors begging them not to sell their shares to the Americans in his letter he warned about the long-term impact this decision could have on the club however it was too late the capitalist magnates had already agreed on everything by May 2005 mager and McManus announced they were done expanding their portfolio and were ready to sell their shares for cash the glazers jumped at the chance made a solid offer and within a week they also took out the last major shareholder when their stake reached 75% the glazers gained full control this would have allowed them to delist the club from the stock exchange and turn united into a private company no board approval was needed and what did they do just days after hitting that Milestone that's right they pulled United off the stock exchange blocking other investors from buying shares it was over Manchester United was now completely under Glazer's control and as bad as fans and board members feared it might be the reality of this takeover turned out to be even worse than anyone expected the new owner's first visit to Old Trafford was a total disaster a furious crowd of fans greeted Joel Brian and Aram and things got so bad that the police had to step in to calm everyone down it was not exactly the warmest welcome despite the rocky start the glazers wasted no time getting to work in their first year in charge they expanded Old Trafford and made at least four game-changing signings to form the team's back bone for years on top of that United secured a record-breaking sponsorship deal with American Insurance giant AIG after a series of scandals Harmony really appeared in the leadership Ferguson who was trusted was again given full card blanch for all transfers and stop distracting on other issues is most happy about this as a result Manchester dominates not only in England but also throughout Europe reaching the Champions League final two years in a row and taking one trophy this is 32-year-old promising financier Ed Woodward who works in the investment Department of JP Morgan Woodward was the Glazer's key adviser during their 2-year takeover of United the family was very pleased with Woodward's work and eventually he got an important position at United in addition to Ed's Talent the glazers also saw Manchester United's potential as a business project in advance coming from the NFL world where sponsorship contracts are tightly regulated the glazers were stunned by how little United earned from its sponsors with the team's massive Global fan base they believed United could become the strongest football brand on the planet and they trusted Woodward to make it happen unlike the previous board which focused on The Prestige and quality of its sponsors Woodward went all in on quantity United became one of the first football clubs to embrace globalization fully they started signing sponsorship deals region by region allowing companies to use the United brand in their local markets without requiring adson shirts or Stadium banners a mobile operator in Saudi Arabia a tire manufacturer in India noodles from Japan and many more the number of new club Partners grew exponentially United's Revenue almost doubled within 5 years of the Glazer's takeover at the same time the club's Reliance on Match Day income shrank as its strategy shifted toward global commercial deals so both on the pitch and in the boardroom the Red Devils seemed to be thriving and maybe those fans who hated the glazers got it all wrong perhaps they truly wanted the best for the club maybe they just wanted United to grow and succeed nope not a chance the fans were absolutely right all along as United grew into a global brand it lost touch with its local fans this commercialization killed their passion turning a once- living Sports Club into a money-making machine but that wasn't even the worst part in 2006 just as all this activ was ramping up the glazers announced they were refinancing the club's debt at that moment the general audience who hadn't done much Deep dive into the Takeover of United wondered what kind of debt they were talking about after all United didn't have any serious financial problems or significant debt obligations after the club entered the stock market in the '90s but here's the catch the glazers used a tactic straight from their real estate industry they borrowed money to buy the club's shares using United's own assets as collateral then they transferred that debt onto the club itself let's clear something up almost every football club carries some level of debt but it's usually manageable spread out over time and doesn't really interfere with day-to-day operations but the Glazer situation was totally different part of the loan they used to buy United was backed by a bank with a standard interest rate but the other part was backed by hedge funds and their rates were nearly three times higher the result in the first year under the glazers the club had to Shell out a jaw-dropping 113 million in loan payments for context United's total revenue that year was only 168 million ouch this is why the glazers announced a refinancing plan just a year after taking over it lowered the annual payment to around £60 million but there was a catch it extended the loans term raised the interest rate and increased the overall debt United was sinking deeper into a financial hole and it was just the beginning those Skyhigh payments didn't bother the glazers at all because it was all funded by the Manchester United brand which kept raking in money from sponsorships ticket sales and ever growing TV deals the cash flow was insane so with all this extra money saved from refinancing surely they set some aside to rebuild Old Trafford right nope by 2010 the glazers doubled down they made another even Bolder refinancing move issuing 500 million worth of bonds that would mature in 2017 mean meanwhile fan protests were reaching a whole new level in fact fans ditched the club's current red and white colors and returned to yellow and green the team's original colors this wasn't just about Nostalgia it was a powerful symbol of their love for the game and rejection of the glazers ownership these colors were a nod to the club's Roots as a workingclass team of Railway workers from Southwest Manchester in 2005 United shareholders didn't farewell they were pushed out of the boardroom and the group was rebranded as the Manchester United supporters trust with this new organization they rallied a group of United's wealthiest and most influential fans by 2010 this Consortium publicly expressed interest in buying the club from the glazers for a staggering 1 billion pounds to put the power back into the fans hands but it didn't even get to the point of a formal offer the glazers quickly shot down the idea hinting through the media that the club wasn't for sale however this drama unfolded during one of United's most successful periods in the 21st century the team was racking up trophies delivering Unforgettable moments and dominating on the pitch for many fans the financial chaos and Shady boardroom dealings faded into the background buried under the excitement of all those incredible victories the magic on the field wholly overshadowed what was happening behind the scenes but that wasn't going to last forever everything was about to change [Music] Ferguson left at his Peak winning 19th and 20th gold for United and completing his prophecy by finally beating Liverpool and honestly it didn't matter who took over after him it was a no- win situation from the start every team has its life cycle and by the early 2000s and 10 that great United Squad was on its last legs Fergie had squeezed every drop of success out of what he had so when Moyes stepped in he wasn't just replacing a legend who held the job for 26 years he also had to rebuild a powerful but aging Squad David didn't stand a chance however I want to take it further moyes's Replacements identity is also irrelevant as is the identity of those who followed him new coaches new players none of it mattered because a top club without a clear long-term football strategy is doomed from the start keep in mind that David Gil left United simultaneously with Ferguson closing a major chapter in the club's history he had been on the board since 2004 and despite initially opposing the Glazer's takeover eventually became their Ally and stayed on as CEO fans called him a hypocrite but give him credit Jill was vital behind the scenes he handled everything outside the pitch letting Fergie focus on football and he actually knew the game and who took his place to the great regret of United fans Woodward was so successful in his commercial activities that the glazers promoted him making him the club's main figure the issue was that he lacked a solid understanding of football and instead of hiring a sporting director to handle that side of things Ed kept all the power for himself he was too focused on making record breaking sponsorship deals opening new markets and boosting Revenue while the football side of the club was neglected this approach differs greatly from what happened at that moment among the United's Rivals every top club was building clear management structures they had proper football departments Financial stability smart recruitment strategies everyone knew their role when Fergie left it wasn't just Moyes who inherited a mess it was also Woodward and in his very first transfer window Woodward set the tone for the chaotic directionless strategy that would haunt the club for the next 10 years the truth is the squad rebuild should have started much earlier while Ferguson was still in charge but in his final years United sold more players than they bought because of debt after the glazers 2006 refinancing the club was bleeding money on loan repayments interest and fees spending on transfers took a back seat then in 2012 the glazers refinanced again this time by putting 10% of the club's shares on the stock market raising 150 million but here's the catch these were Class B shares with no voting rights the glazers kept full control while lowering interest payments giving United enough breathing room to start spending heavily in the transfer market again but it caused even more problems [Music] unsuccessful transfers weren't unheard of during Fergie's time but the club's transfer strategy was always balanced that balance was one of United's biggest advantages over its competitors after Ferguson left the Red Devils quickly earned a reputation as one of the most inefficient clubs it wasn't about a lack of money far from it the problem was that Woodward seemed more focused on breaking transfer records making headlines and boosting the United brand than actually building a winning team it often felt like he didn't understand what the squad needed on the field on top of that the club's transfer process became bogged down with layers of bureaucracy a far cry from the streamlined approach of the Ferguson Gill partnership since the glazers took over United has spent over 2 billion pounds on transfers most of it in the last decade that's more than enough to compete with City and Liverpool yet since Ferguson's departure United has only finished in the top three four times the same issues applied to hiring managers each new coach was introduced with huge Fanfare and always presented as the long-term solution to bring United back to the top but when the pressure kicked in and results didn't come fast enough that trust from the leadership vanished former employees often had harsh words about working under Woodward claiming the environment was chaotic and overly corporate and what did the glazers do about all these failures absolutely nothing they didn't seem to care as long long as the money kept rolling in from sponsorships and other commercial deals that steady cash flow allowed them to service loans and keep the club's budget afloat so they were content to let Woodward run the show no matter how bad things got on the pitch Malcolm Glazer passed away in 2014 after a long illness he never even visited Old Trafford but his death didn't really change much for United since the club had been run by his kids for years already by the way now that the annual payments have been reduced to a minimum and it's possible to invest hundreds of millions in transfers maybe we could finally expect investments in infrastructure no way instead Our Heroes Have implemented a practice that is absolutely unique to the football World the family started taking money out of the club as dividends for years while United's debt kept Rising the glazers regularly pulled Millions out of the club to line their pockets meanwhile Old Trafford was falling apart there were holes in the roof rust everywhere and even mice were taking up residence a few years ago Tottenham took out a massive loan to build their new stadium now after all the glazers refinancing over the years the two clubs are paying about the same amount annually but here's the difference Spurs are paying for their shiny new stadium while United is paying for its slavery under the control of a prudent and uncompromising family the same story applies to the rest of the infrastructure while other top clubs opened state-of-the-art training facilities United was still searching for a place to build theirs however the priority Remains modernizing The Stadium As Old Trafford is in a profoundly poor condition the Glazer's potential additional costs for its reconstruction prompted a significant turning point in our [Music] history this was the first match in premier league history to be postponed due to Fan protests just a week earlier United supporters had already blocked the entrance to the club's training ground in Carrington 15 years ago the club sale was more of a local issue that mainly concerned United fans but now it has turned into a global movement because this wasn't just about United anymore it was a backlash against the newly announced Super League where United was set to play a leading role in an exclusive closed off competition Joel Glazer the same guy who took years to figure out what offside was suddenly decided he knew what was best for football shocking right but of course the glazers couldn't resist with the pandemic hitting Revenue hard they needed to find new ways to cash in so naturally they jumped on the Super League bandwagon seeing it as a golden opportunity to boost profits but like with many football related decisions they completely miscalculated the tournament collapsed before it got off the ground and Joel had to apologize to Furious fans in the end Woodward was ultimately the culprit after this setback he left the club he later claimed he was a against the Super League supposedly the first time in 20 years he had ever disagreed with the glazers but in reality Ed was one of the key players behind the whole thing in late 22 the glazers made Headlines by publicly announcing for the first time that they were open to selling Manchester United the club's Market valuation was around3 billion at the time but the family set their asking price at a hefty 5 billion and what led to this decision well several factors pushed them to reconsider their position first Old Trafford was falling apart literally the iconic Stadium desperately needed a massive overhaul which would cost hundreds of millions second the collapse of the Super League project had left them without the promised Financial windfall they were banking on third fan outrage had reached a boiling point with supporters turning to more radical methods of protest on top of that growth in the TV rights Market was slowing down the new broadcasting deal set to begin The Following Season had increased revenues by Just 4 % with all these challenges mounting the family did the math they evaluated the necessary Investments estimated the time it would take to see returns and ultimately decided to cash out potential buyers came forward quickly but negotiations hit a wall the glazers Sky High asking price became the main sticking point no one was willing to pay more than 4. 5 billion pounds As Time passed talks continued and fans waited impatiently hoping for a Christmas miracle and maybe Christmas 2023 will be one United fans will never forget around that time news broke that the glazers were selling a significant stake to inos a British chemical giant owned by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Ratcliffe who has a history of investing big in sports acquired 27.

7% of the club for1 1. 25 billion of that £200 million was immediately earmarked for the much needed reconstruction of Old Trafford but the biggest headline wasn't just the sale it was the buyer himself Jim Ratcliffe the second richest man in the UK with a fortune nearing 30 billion pounds stepped into the spotlight a Manchester native and a lifelong United fan his arrival initially brought hope and excitement to the fan base But as time passed many supporters quickly grew disillusioned with the new Direction but more on that later ratcliff's company inos now oversees all football operations at the club however commercial control Still Remains tightly in the hands of the glazers over the past year inos has replaced nearly all of United's top management leading to significant changes including a historic summer transfer window United made over € 100 million EUR from player sales for the first time since Ronaldo's departure what made this even more remarkable was that these weren't Blockbuster deals seven Academy players were part of the list under Ed Woodward such small sales probably wouldn't have been on the agenda on the infrastructure front Old Trafford has finally seen some long awaited r Renovations Ratcliffe has also shared his ambitious vision for the future a massive new stadium in Manchester that could seat 100,000 fans Not only would it be United's new home but it could also host the England national team this Grand project is estimated to cost around2 billion however as we approach the one-year Mark of enos's involvement many fans are already frustrated with the new Direction while there was optimism in the early months things took a sour turn in the spring when the club launched a major cost cutting initiative this affected multiple areas including reduced funding for charity programs pay cuts for stewards and Stadium staff and layoffs of nearly a quarter of the club's office Workforce perhaps the most shocking move came last fall when Ratcliffe personally informed Sir Alex Ferguson of his resignation as a club Ambassador ending a role he had held for over 12 years around the same time United unexpectedly raised ticket prices midseason eliminating discounts for children and seniors this decision sparked outrage among fans as even the glazers had avoided raising prices in recent years these changes come after what was widely regarded as the worst season in United's history and with the current season shaping up to be even worse fans have been particularly vocal pointing out that Ratcliffe as someone from the local community should understand the economic realities of Manchester compared to London yet under his leadership the club is becoming less accessible to its loyal supporters and the a list of grievances against the new shareholder keeps growing so is there a moral to this whole story I think so it all comes down to perspective and how you choose to interpret it from a business standpoint it's tough to fault the glazers they saw the potential to turn Manchester United into a global money-making machine and they executed that Vision flawlessly they acquired an incredible asset at a reasonable price with minimal risk this asset generated a steady cash flow for nearly two decades which they cleverly used to secure loans for their other Ventures for creditors United was a gold mine that just kept giving even the sale of small shares and dividend payments were drops in the bucket compared to the billions they gained from the skyrocketing value of the United brand no matter how you slice it their commercial strategy worked but let's not ignore the other side of the coin the team that once dominated English football has become a mid tier competitor occasionally scrapping for a spot in European competitions and yet despite this fall From Grace United remains England's most valuable Club even pulling in record Revenue during its worst ever Premier League season hats off to Ed Woodward for that one now if we shift perspectives it's clear that United and its fans were victims of Ruthless capitalist exploitation the brand was milked for all it was worth costing the club over 1.