MANCHESTER UNITED are not for sale and the Glazers are going nowhere just yet, according to Ed Woodward. The opinion splitting Red Devils owners completed their takeover in 2005 and appear to be in it for the long term despite recent reports of interest from the Middle East. Old Trafford chiefs are reportedly bracing themselves […]
MANCHESTER UNITED are not for sale and the Glazers are going nowhere just yet, according to Ed Woodward.
The opinion splitting Red Devils owners completed their takeover in 2005 and appear to be in it for the long term despite recent reports of interest from the Middle East.
Old Trafford chiefs are reportedly bracing themselves for a £3billion takeover bid from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
But Red Devils executive vice-chairman Woodward addressed fans’ concerns during an interview with fanzine United We Stand and claimed the Americans are committed to the club for the foreseeable future.
Woodward, 47, said: “Based on what I see, they’re in it for the long term.
“With regards to offers or asking prices, my understanding is that there have been no discussions for a price for the club or anything like that.
“Every conversation we have is based on the long-term.
“The debt is a long-term, structured and similar to some other football clubs.
“It’s a fixed amount for a fixed period of time which results in it being fairly cheap to service.
“It’s just under two per cent of our annual revenue each year, so it doesn’t really have any impact on us.
“If you look at the way the approach changed under the Glazers for commercial activity, that has brought in an extra £2.5-£3bn. We have spent a lot of money on players.
“We are financially strong. We are self-sustaining. We don’t have an umbilical cord that we are concerned about.
“There’s negativity about us doing sponsorship deals but they allow us to do things in the transfer market which other clubs struggle to do.
“We absolutely feel we are on the right track to getting back to winning trophies.”
United produced probably their best performance of the season on Sunday to become the first team to take points of Liverpool this campaign.
But the result doesn’t paper over the cracks at the crisis hit club and Woodward is aware of the spotlight on him given the period of apparent decline he has overseen since he landed his current role in 2012.
Fans even chartered a plane to fly over Old Trafford on Sunday with a banner that read: “Ed Still Failing #WoodwardOut.”
And Woodward added: “I understand the scrutiny; it’s part of the job. And I don’t want to be famous and can’t be mates with the players.
“But we have to do everything we possibly can to get back to winning the Premier League.
“We are not successful until we do. Second is not success – we have to win the Premier League.”
United sit 13th in the Premier League after the 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
