Back in October, in the Great Hall of Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club, 1,000 "senior decision- makers in world football" gathered. There was an air of optimism and self-congratulation. Commercial managers from some of the country's top clubs talked of exciting new opportunities in the Far East. Gossip was traded about how lucrative the next Premier League television deal would be.
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And then there's Manchester United. The most romantic name in international club football was acquired by the US-based Glazer family in 2005. The Glazers took a profitable, debt-free club and shackled it with £666m in borrowings. According to its most recent accounts, £138m of these borrowings are charging a punishing interest rate of 14.25 per cent. Manchester United has the strongest revenues of all the top clubs. But a large chunk is being eaten up by debt interest payments alone. And for all United's stunning success on the field in recent years, the business made a £57.8m loss last year. One football analyst I spoke to suggested that the Glazers would probably sell if they got a good offer, although this is denied by the club. Full story...
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