Manchester United Old Trafford
Financial expert Kieran Maguire believes that Manchester United fans will be ‘shocked’ at how much the Glazers have spent on the club’s infrastructure over the last decade.
The Lowdown: Ronaldo not impressed
Cristiano Ronaldo’s future was a hot topic of conversation over the summer, with speculation over a potential move away from the Premier League giants. The 37-year-old appears unsettled at Old Trafford but remained at the club beyond the transfer deadline.
Recent reports have suggested that Ronaldo has repeatedly complained about the standard of the club’s amenities, and Maguire has shared figures when it comes to United falling behind their top-six rivals off the field.
The Latest: Maguire’s comments
Maguire, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to Football Insider regarding United’s infrastructure spending.
He said that the club’s fans ‘will be shocked’ to know that the likes of Brighton, Leicester and Brentford have all spent more than the £94m that the Red Devils have shelled out in this respect since 2010.
Maguire revealed:
“Man United have spent £94m since the start of 2010-11 on infrastructure costs. This is substantially behind not only cubs in the ‘Big Six’ but other Premier League clubs as well.
“Spurs have spent £1.5bn, City £379m, Liverpool over £250m. That could be expected but I think fans will be shocked that their club has spent less than smaller clubs such as Brighton, Leicester and Brentford as well.
“I think part of the reason for this is that, under Project Big Picture and the Super League project, the Glazers were hoping to get a central fund to provide grants to pay for infrastructure costs.
“Now that both of those causes have collapsed, for the time being at least, they realise they have to access external funding to keep the club on par with their peers.”
Where will United finish this season?
Top 4
5th-7th
8th or lower
The Verdict: Needs sorting
Gary Neville has recently described the Glazers’ lack of investment off the field as “unforgivable”. Things have stood still at Carrington and Old Trafford in recent times, whereas United’s rivals have sought to improve their own facilities.
It doesn’t look as if the Glazers have any pending plans for an infrastructure shake-up, so the only way that things can go to the next level may well be if they sell up, which again has been a hot topic of conversation in recent months.
Should a change of ownership materialise, you’d like to think that improvements at Carrington and Old Trafford would be high up on a new owner’s wish list, but only time will tell.
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