Glazers, Bond Issue and Debt

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Not really news, but might turn out to be useful if anyone wants to catch the show

Manchester United finances under Glazers to be subject of BBC Panorama investigation

Manchester United's finances under the ownership of the Glazer family, the club's £712 million debt and the £80 million raised by the 2009 sale of Cristiano Ronaldo are set to be the subject of an investigation by Panorama, the BBC current affairs programme.

United, who are due to announce quarterly financial results on Friday as a condition of the club's £500 million bond issue, have yet to co-operate with the programme makers ahead of the proposed screening date of June 7.

But with manager Sir Alex Ferguson having not spoken to the BBC since accusing the corporation of "breathtaking arrogance" following a 2004 Panorama expose into the alleged business dealings of his son, Jason, the programme is unlikely to soothe relations.

Although the investigation is understood to be based on a broad theme of football club ownership and the game's financial health, the situation surrounding the Glazers and attempts by the Red Knights to launch a supporter-backed takeover bid for United are believed to form the main thrust of the programme.

Despite the Glazer family's consistently-stated determination to resist any takeover bid, supporter groups behind the green-and-gold anti-Glazer campaign continue to claim that the Americans' business interests in their home country, which include nationwide shopping malls and real estate, are suffering as a result of the economic downturn.

Those claims, and suggestions that United's income is being used to service the club's debt, are understood to form part of the Panorama investigation.

Ferguson has been told he has substantial funds at his disposal should he wish to add to his squad this summer, but the majority of the £80 million banked from the sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid remains unspent.United have been cleared to reinvest £7 million of the Ronaldo money in the Mexican forward Javier Hernandez, however, after securing a work permit for the 21 year-old at a hearing in London on Thursday.

At the hearing, held by the Football Association on behalf of the Home Office, the club argued that Hernandez deserved a permit on the grounds of "exceptional ability" after failing to meet the criteria of having played 75 per cent of Mexico's fixtures over the past two years. Hernandez, a member of Mexico's World Cup squad, will make his United debut on the club's tour of the United States in July. A game against the player's previous club, Chivas Guadalajara, will be staged on July 30 as part of the transfer agreement.

Source: The Telegraph (UK website)