Why Man Utd’s debt is set to rise a further £200m
Cameron Smith
- 18 Apr 2022 10:48 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United were nearly £500 million in debt by the end of 2021, but their owners, the Glazers, want to increase this debt by a further £200m, and according to reports they will be allowed to do so.
The Glazers first put a stake into the club in 2003 and their takeover was completed two years later. The owners have pumped funds into the Old Trafford club since arriving, but the Red Devils haven't won a league title since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.
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With that in mind they shopped for Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, but those acquisitions haven't helped Man Utd climb into a title fight.
Plenty of money has been spent in a bid to win the Premier League again, but so far those efforts haven't been rewarded. The amount of cash spent by the Glazers has left the club in £495m debt at the end of 2021, but that will rise thanks to their new plans for the club. However, the plans don't include major new signings for the club.
What are the new plans for Man Utd?
Instead the Glazers want to revamp Old Trafford and make it the second biggest sports stadium in the United Kingdom, behind only Wembley.
The plans will cost around £200m according to the Express, and the American owners will reportedly be able to borrow this money despite their current debts.
The Daily Mail have also reported that Man Utd want to add around 15,000 more seats to Old Trafford, with the capacity of the stadium set to reach as high as 88,000.
Despite not winning a trophy since 2017, Man Utd are still one of the most supported and marketable clubs in world football, with the return of Ronaldo certainly helping. The Glazers reportedly want to increase Old Trafford's capacity in order to cater for those on the season ticket waiting list and to ensure the stadium is full at all games.
If the revamp of Old Trafford does take place, the stadium will overtake Twickenham in capacity, falling short of only Wembley in terms of size in the United Kingdom.
