One evening in August 2005, Wayne Rooney scored against Debrecen in the Champions League. In the honoring stands, an American voice raised in surprise: "Where will the balls go?". Bryan Glazer - one of Malcolm Glazer's three children - thought that, like bong da or American football, a ball in the net would be kept as a souvenir. But in England it is different.
Former CEO David Gill just calmly replied: Bong is not going anywhere. They were returned and the match continued. The whole room was quiet. No one laughed. Simply because they didn't understand each other.
That story says two things: First, to run a football club, it is necessary to understand football culture. Second, Glazer has always sought every opportunity to exploit it commercially - even a ball that rolled into the net. And it was the mindset of not missing any details that helped them take over Manchester United.
The game begins
On May 12, 2005, Glazer's Red Football Company acquired a 28.7% stake in JP Mc Manus and John Magnier - two Irish horse racing tycoons who had a dispute with Sir Alex Ferguson over ownership of Rock of Gibraltar-like horses. Two weeks later, on May 26, the United Board of Directors simultaneously sent a letter of advice to the remaining shareholders to sell their shares. Chairman Sir Roy Gardner and two independent directors simultaneously resigned.
Meanwhile, Sir Alex received a call from Andy Walsh - representative of the Independent Fans Association - asking him to consider resigning to protest the deal. But Ferguson refused, polite and decisively. As a result, the fan community was divided. One of the founding members of FC United of Manchester. Another group - Red Knights - tried to buy the club back in 2010 but failed because the plan was exposed, causing Glazer to push up the selling price.
Victory and a huge debt
On 29 June 2005, Joel, Avie and Bryan Glazer appeared at Old Trafford for the first time. Hundreds of people protested surrounding the stadium. They had to leave by police car. Despite the objections, the Glazer family still won. The purchase was worth £790 million, of which only about £270 million was in cash - the rest was borrowed and taken from Manchester United as collateral, and was carried out.
Nearly 2 decades later, the principal debt has remained almost unchanged - even increasing by 180 million pounds. Despite selling 28.9% of its shares to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Glazer still holds 48.9% of its shares and 67.9% of its voting rights thanks to holding B-class stocks.
Glazer's father - Malcolm, who started the deal - had never been to Old Trafford and passed away in 2014. No biography of Malcolm has been published, so we can only speculate about what he said about Man United and whether there was any mention of the day his sons needed police to leave Old Trafford?
The only piece of information that the family provided was Joel's interview with MUTV from his visit to Old Trafford in June 2005, in which he stressed that communicating with fans was "extremely important". But after that, Glazer quickly closed all media doors. No press conferences, no interviews, no official statements.
From "opponent" to "sponsor"
Earlier, Gill strongly opposed the reception. He called Glazer's financial model "aggressive" and could "harm". He even sold his stake to a friendly shareholder to try to stop the deal. But just a few months later, Gill was the one who accompanied the Glazer brothers on the trip to London to meet FA, Premier League and Sports Minister Richard Caborn. The meetings took place secret to avoid protests. Gill directly called to arrange the schedule. The fact that he stayed was an important role: both to ensure continuity, and to keep Ferguson.
As a result, Gill's salary doubled in the next five years, and when he left the club in 2013, he became a UEFA Executive Committee member.
American model, British concerns
Richard Scudamore (Premier League), Brian Barwick (FA) and Minister Caborn are all concerned about the possibility of Glazer breaking the TV copyright sharing model. But the three of them reassured: They come from the NFL - where all commercial rights are concentrated and divided equally - and have no intention of unilaterally breaking away from the Premier League.
However, worrying is not just about revenue division. Fans and even players like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were concerned about the huge debt placed on the club's shoulders at that time. In particular, the PIK loan worth 220 million pounds with progressive interest rates. If the deadline is late, lending funds could demand a seat on the Board of Directors or even hold a stake in United.
Sean Bones - a key member of Shareholders United - was upset: In NFL, you cant borrow more than 15% to buy a team. Glazer borrowed 66% to buy United. That is unreasonable.
Contrastingprings from... breeding horses
The conflict between Ferguson and the two Irish tycoons began with the filly in Rock of Gibraltar. As their relationship became tense, Magnier and Mc Manus publicly pressured Ferguson, asking him 99 questions about transfers, hiring private detectives, and even being suspected of sewing up his son's trash can. Coolmore - a company headed by Magnier and Mc Manus, has always denied having any involvement in these actions.
Ben Hatton, a former sales manager, said: They wanted to use their stake as leverage to force Ferguson to leave. The situation was too tense and a "white- chaired horse" was needed to prevent the entire deal from being taken over." But that did not happen. On May 12, 2005, Glazer went under and closed the entire purchase of Coolmore shares.
The government is helpless, fans are worried
Many people believe that the Government can intervene. But Minister Caborn said frankly: We have no right. As long as they pass the FA and Premier League's fitness and financial tests, we cannot stop them." He acknowledged the concerns of the fans, but said that the Glazer family basically still retains the clubs role in the community.
Lord Jim ONeill, a major shareholder and founder of the Red Knights, said that if the government is to stop this financial leverage model, it would require separate laws for sports, similar to the new regulations recently proposed.
David Davies - former FA CEO - also met Glazer during a trip to London in 2005. I want to see if they really understand the club. They seem to have read United's history. But he also admitted: If United stop spending money on big players, I will protest more. But everyone knows: succeeding Ferguson is not easy as it was after Matt Busbys reign.
The fateful night at Old Trafford
On the evening of June 29, 2005, Joel, Avie and Bryan Glazer went to Old Trafford to meet the executive board. The news spread. 400 fans gathered outside, shouting, erecting barriers, and throwing rocks. The security team had to erect an iron gate. Inside, no one dared to leave. At nearly 10:30 p.m., 2 armored police vehicles took Glazer's house out of the yard. The scene made the witness exclaim: "It's scary".
The next morning, Sir Bobby Charlton visited Glazer's house, apologizing to them for what happened. He tried to explain: "They can't ignore the fans - those who love the team to the point of going beyond the limit." Charlton's initial impression of Glazer was more than expected. But he also confessed: "I was sleepless many nights because I didn't know what was going to happen to the club."
2 decades later: Still controversial
20 years have passed, the Glazer family is still in the front of Manchester United - despite many advertisements, negotiations, and struggles. Despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe's move, they still retain much of their power. And despite a series of protests, banners, and flights towing banners to protest - the Glazer family has not left.
They are not just buying back a team. They have bought back a part of the history, culture and emotions of millions of people. But do they really understand that? That question still hangs in the sky of Old Trafford - as if it were a secret that did not have a complete answer.
