Man U Fans Angry With Glazers

In what’s becoming a recurring story, the latest complaint from Manchester United Fans about the soccer club’s American owners is that they’re lining their own pockets too much.

The Glazer family, which has owned the club since 2005, is allegedly reneging on an initial plan to use the money from floating some stock on the New York exchange to cut club debts.

Apparently the Manchester United Supporters Trust got wind of the idea that the Glazers will keep their hands on about half of the £150 million ($234 million) the New York launch is expected to raise.

Malcolm Glazer and five other family members could be set to pocket around £16 million ($25 million) each.

In 2009, United fans were angry because Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the team’s best player, was sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid for more than £70 million.

Very little of the cash was used to strengthen the team as most of it went toward paying the annual interest on the club’s huge bank loans. Current debt stands at about £437 million ($680 million).

In the seven years since the Glazers took over, debt-related fees and interest have cost the club about £550 million ($858 million).

The Daily Telegraph says the Glazers are keeping quiet about where the New York money is going, but a club spokesman said the Securities and Exchange Commission restrictions prevent them from commenting until the shares are being traded.

The Glazer family filed a prospectus with the SEC July 3, although at the time it wasn’t revealed how many shares would be on offer or at what price.

The latest reports say the owners expect they’ll have to let go of a little more than 10 percent of their stock to raise the £150 million.