The financials at Manchester United are in tatters right now, as the results from the second quarter revealed, with the club making things much worse.
Ineos may have taken over a ship with holes in it, yet after one year the ship is now almost fully submerged after some decisions which stretched the club thin financially.
Manchester United’s second-quarter results revealed that revenue is down by 12 per cent – with the club making an operating profit of just £3.1m over the period of time accounted for.
The big expenditure was the £14.5m spent on sacking Erik ten Hag and his staff, along with Dan Ashworth’s hiring and firing fees.
This is embarrassing for Ineos as it means that the 250 redundancies at Old Trafford didn’t even pay for the club to rectify their own wrongs over the past year.
These financial results come against the backdrop of fan outrage over the £66 ticket price rises. Due to all of this and the lack of profit, some have hope of the Glazer family selling up for good.
Avram Glazer responds to Manchester United sale questions
Ineos cannot take the blame for the devastating financial performances and decisions, with United spending tens of millions to sack coaches in the past.
However, the league position United find themselves in – 15th – has led to fans becoming more and more volatile with nothing papering over the cracks at the club.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 13 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 32 | -3 | 30 |
| 14 |  EvertonEverton | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 27 | 31 | -4 | 30 |
| 15 |  Man UtdManchester United | 25 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 28 | 35 | -7 | 29 |
| 16 |  West HamWest Ham | 25 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 29 | 47 | -18 | 27 |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 25 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 35 | 54 | -19 | 19 |
The Glazer family are at fault and have been since they took over the club for £800m, which was funded by debt when they placed onto the club – with United now a billion pounds in debt.
Before American businessman Avram Glazer arrived at the club, United was debt-free, something many fans now dream of.
Another dream fans have is to see the Glazers sell their shares and leave the club. But the part-owners have always been reluctant and now Avram has been asked directly.
Sky Sports found Avram in America with the reporter questioning him as to whether he is considering selling the club and he had a clear one-word answer.
“No”, the 64-year-old said before walking away.
This is not the response United fans would have wanted, but it might not be true. Prior to his ‘no’, Avram was asked if he thought Ineos were taking the brunt for his deeds, to which the US-born billionaire deflected.
“I’m on my way to see the president, I don’t think now is an appropriate time to talk about it.”
Avram Glazer wouldn’t be allowed to admit intention to sell United
Obviously, it is frustrating to see the American owner show absolutely no care for the club or the supporters as he smiles during the lines of questioning, there could be good reason.
If the Glazers were considering a sale, by law they would not be allowed to make that admission before a deal was completed.
The reasoning for this is that it would break the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines on takeovers and anti-manipulation of the market, given that United are on the New York Stock Exchange.
So the Glazers saying they are going to sell would artificially inflate the stock value – which is illegal. Therefore it is little shock he so quickly said no.
With the situation United are in, we have to think a sale would be looking very tempting to the Glazers right now.
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