31-01-2010, 11:17 AM
Hot on the heels of the Keith Harris story, chief exec, David Gill has spoken out about the club's finances and appears to toe the party line:
Manchester United chief executive David Gill has played down concerns over the club's financial situation.
It was announced earlier this month that United's total debt had risen to £716.5million, leading to fears about the club's future.
Gill has already stressed that Wayne Rooney will not follow Cristiano Ronaldo out of the Old Trafford exit door and he insists funds from the Portuguese star's sale are available to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Revealing that United had failed in a bid to sign Karim Benzema last summer, Gill once again promised to support his manager in the transfer market.
"Without doubt," said Gill. "We used £15million to buy Antonio Valencia and we have well over £100m in the bank sitting there.
"People look from the outside and say Alex has been under pressure. I think everyone who has dealt with Alex or seen him in the press knows he will not compromise what he wants to do for this club.
"If I went to (joint board chairman) Joel Glazer and said 'Alex wants a particular player, can we have the money?' The answer would be an unequivocal yes.
"They have demonstrated it (with Benzema). We didn't get Benzema but we did offer 35m euros."
Gill also alleviated worries that the Glazer family would sell Old Trafford or the club's Carrington training ground, or that they were not in it for the long haul.
"This is a long-term thing," he said. "They bought (American football team) the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 and 15 years later, they still own that - they are in it for the long term.
"All the actions they've taken, whether it be investing in the infrastructure, whether it be putting more money into looking at Carrington, into players... it strikes me it's all long-term views."
On the possibility of Carrington being sold and leased back to the club, he added: "I am 100% convinced that will never happen under Glazer family ownership.
"The sale and leaseback opportunity within the bond document is done for financial and tax planning. Manchester United Limited continue to have complete control of Carrington."
Source: skysports.com
I'm not sure this will go far enough to appease the fans, in my opinion. There are so many concerns simply over the level of the debt. We want United debt-free and owned by the fans who have the club's best interests at heart and are not in it purely for the fast buck!
Manchester United chief executive David Gill has played down concerns over the club's financial situation.
It was announced earlier this month that United's total debt had risen to £716.5million, leading to fears about the club's future.
Gill has already stressed that Wayne Rooney will not follow Cristiano Ronaldo out of the Old Trafford exit door and he insists funds from the Portuguese star's sale are available to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Revealing that United had failed in a bid to sign Karim Benzema last summer, Gill once again promised to support his manager in the transfer market.
"Without doubt," said Gill. "We used £15million to buy Antonio Valencia and we have well over £100m in the bank sitting there.
"People look from the outside and say Alex has been under pressure. I think everyone who has dealt with Alex or seen him in the press knows he will not compromise what he wants to do for this club.
"If I went to (joint board chairman) Joel Glazer and said 'Alex wants a particular player, can we have the money?' The answer would be an unequivocal yes.
"They have demonstrated it (with Benzema). We didn't get Benzema but we did offer 35m euros."
Gill also alleviated worries that the Glazer family would sell Old Trafford or the club's Carrington training ground, or that they were not in it for the long haul.
"This is a long-term thing," he said. "They bought (American football team) the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 and 15 years later, they still own that - they are in it for the long term.
"All the actions they've taken, whether it be investing in the infrastructure, whether it be putting more money into looking at Carrington, into players... it strikes me it's all long-term views."
On the possibility of Carrington being sold and leased back to the club, he added: "I am 100% convinced that will never happen under Glazer family ownership.
"The sale and leaseback opportunity within the bond document is done for financial and tax planning. Manchester United Limited continue to have complete control of Carrington."
Source: skysports.com
I'm not sure this will go far enough to appease the fans, in my opinion. There are so many concerns simply over the level of the debt. We want United debt-free and owned by the fans who have the club's best interests at heart and are not in it purely for the fast buck!