This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 29, 2018 - November 4, 2018

Even at the best of times, Saudi Arabia buying Manchester United football club would have been a deal that demanded forensic scrutiny. But for stories linking the desert kingdom with the famous English football club to come out now, the timing could not have been worse.

United’s American owners, the Glazer family, have been accused of many things but never of “disappearing” a journalist or starting a war that could precipitate a famine. That said, it is not the best of times for the club either.

Still, United’s share price rose 5% on the rumours, which were given apparent substance with the news that Avram Glazer, eldest of the six siblings that own 97% of United, was flying to Riyadh.

As it turned out, this was to attend nothing more than an investment forum — a trip that he has since cancelled due to the diplomatic fallout from the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi. Investors, though, seemed untroubled by the furore with the price hitting an all-time high of US$27.65 on the New York Stock Exchange. Forbes valued the club at £3.2 billion.

Man United plc, it appears, is immune from extraneous factors. A few weeks ago, the share price scaled similar heights as the club made its worse start to a season in 30 years. Not so the fans who paid for a plane to fly a banner calling for the club’s financial mastermind to be sacked.

Executive vice-president Ed Woodward’s wheeling and dealing with entities such as pot noodle makers in Malaysia, tractor manufacturers in Japan and its mattress and pillow partner (!) in China had left supporters unimpressed. He committed the cardinal sin of denying manager Jose Mourinho funds to strengthen the team in what, for them, is the only market that matters — the transfer market.

That United had the most likes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as a 4.9 rating on Apple Store also cut little ice when the team lost at Brighton and was knocked out of the Carabao Cup at home by Derby.

Despite these humiliations, when Woodward spoke to investors recently, he was asked only one question — about whether his new “sleeve” sponsorship would jeopardise the existing deal for the whole shirt. Proof, critics say, that this storied institution has become a business first and football club a distant second.

Even so, United’s bull run on Wall Street seems like an aberration. As well as logic and league position, it has defied debts of £496 million, according to the latest published accounts. That makes it the runaway leader of the “in hock” league with more than twice the borrowings of second placed Arsenal.

The club has been in the red ever since the Glazer family acquired it by means of a leveraged buyout in 2005. Despite efforts to refinance, this millstone refuses to budge and has sapped almost £1 billion in interest, dividends and salaries. Had that been invested in players instead, United could have bought a virtual World XI.

As their fans are excruciatingly aware, these unnecessary outgoings have coincided with even larger sums pouring into the coffers of rivals Manchester City since they were taken over in 2008. Making this £2 billion plus swing even more significant is that most of City’s money has gone on players.

What we are seeing, in terms of philosophy and modus operandi, is the mother of all football ownership comparisons. In the red corner, leveraged buyout merchants from the US whose only goal is profit; in the blue corner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Aby Dhabi, who is out to boost the image and soft power of his country while building a football empire.

Unlike the Glazers, His Royal Highness did not have to borrow the cash — the oil-rich emirate has more than enough under its desert mattress. And to ensure his investment was in the best possible hands, he did not just head-hunt high flyers, he engineered a regime change from the most successful club on the planet.

One by one, the troika that turned Barcelona into European kings decamped to the blue half of Manchester. First up was CEO Ferran Soriano, then director of football Txiki Begiristain (both in 2012) and, finally in 2016, manager Pep Guardiola.

But City, known as “the Calamity Club”, took a while to morph into a serious contender and, ironically, United, thanks to the genius of manager Sir Alex Ferguson, enjoyed its most successful era in the first five years after City’s takeover.

But where City had a plan for world domination, United did not even have a succession plan. And in 2013, when Ferguson and respected CEO David Gill retired, they were left rudderless.

The next two managers, David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, were chewed up and spat out. Even Mourinho has found he is no longer special. Players, too, have massively underperformed, which has led to questions about Old Trafford becoming a “black hole” into which stars disappear.

United has not won the Premier League title since 2013 — Ferguson’s last season — while City won it in 2012 and has been champion twice since. Last season, it set points and goals records. United was runner-up but not even in City’s rear-view mirror with 19 fewer points and 38 fewer goals. This season, United is already nine points adrift.

Unsurprisingly, City fans are grateful to the owners for not just delivering this “lottery win” but for respecting traditions, building a £200m training campus and regenerating 238 acres of derelict land around their Etihad stadium.

The contrast with how the Red Devils regard the Glazers could not be starker. Twice, even in the good days, there have been revolts: once to form their own club — FC United — and later to try to buy them out.

Unanimous in believing success had been achieved in spite of, and not because of, the owners, and bolstered by several millionaires known as the Red Knights, they raised over £1 billion.

But just as empty stomachs fuel people’s revolts, empty trophy cabinets are required in football — and United’s was bulging. Fergie’s team just carried on winning and when the Red Knights fell short of what the Glazers wanted, the rebellion fizzled out.

Discontent is rife again, however, with Woodward also a target. It is not simply that the Glazers have been that stingy — they have spent big on players, too, on occasions with a post-2008 outlay of £925 million compared to £1.35 billion by City. But it has been a scattergun approach. Indeed, once, when asked what he would do if there was a crisis, Woodward half-jokingly replied: “Throw money at it.”

The former banker arranged the complex deals that enabled the Glazers to buy the club in the first place, and he has increased its commercial partnerships tenfold. But an ability to sell refrigerators to Eskimos is not what is needed now.

Adding to the sense of chaos, Woodward, although not a football man, has recently been telling Mourinho which centre-backs he should and should not buy. Yet, he awarded the Portuguese a new contract in January and when he was appointed, said he believed in the “all-powerful manager model”.

At least he got the interest on loans down to just £24 million last year but the dividends that the Glazers paid themselves over the past three years amounted to £65 million — almost the cost of the club’s second most expensive recruit, Romelu Lukaku.

The fans have pointed this out but the Glazers are not sweating the small stuff. They are also shrugging off ominous signs that City are set to dominate for years to come. They know that financially, United is in a league of its own.

It is the richest club in the world and has the highest turnover (£590 million) for which it tops both the Forbes List of English clubs and the Deloitte’s world club table. It also claims 600 million supporters. They know it will always have its suitors. And given the fickle winds of football finance, don’t rule out the Saudis.

The late, legendary manager Brian Clough once warned owners: “If you get the football right, the rest will follow.” United’s owners stand to make a killing of at least £2 billion when they eventually sell. It begs the question of how much more they would stand to make if they had got the football right.

Bob Holmes is a longtime sports writer specialising in football

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