The Glazers follow through on £7.5million fan share scheme amidst unrest amongst Manchester United supporters
According to Sky News (h/t The Mirror), The Glazers are close to finalizing a new fan share scheme worth £7.5million amidst unrest amongst Manchester United supporters.
There has been a lot of discontent amongst the fans and the United hierarchy over the last 15 years. Things have only intensified since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club taking consistent success on the pitch with him.
However, earlier this year, The Glazers attempted to enter into the European Super League. This would have seen the promotion system in European football compromised. Fans were so furious that they raided Old Trafford before a game against Liverpool to protest against the owners.
Joel Glazer later attended his first fans forum meeting in June and made a pledge to supporters.
“As owners, we want exactly the same thing as the fans – a successful team and a strong club – and we want to work in partnership to achieve those objectives.”
The owners have now followed up on this promise. It is thought they are closing on agreeing to a plan with Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST). This fan share scheme would see supporters own an initial section of shares.
“THE CLUB HAS BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS WITH MUST [THE MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS TRUST] REGARDING A FAN SHARE SCHEME FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AND HAS ALREADY SOUGHT EXTERNAL LEGAL ADVICE ON OPTIONS. DISCUSSIONS WILL NOW INTENSIFY, WITH THE AIM OF AGREEING ON A PLAN BEFORE THE START OF THE NEW SEASON.”
These shares (worth £7.5million) are apparently a new class of equity and shall carry the same voting rights as the B-share voting class owned by the Glazers. They will also have 10 times the voting rights as the A-shares held by most investors.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand recalls when Sir Alex Ferguson ripped into Ruud van Nistelrooy after derby defeat to Man City
- Manchester United ‘adamant’ on assessing the future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the summer amidst calls to sack him
- Anthony Martial and Juan Mata amongst several Manchester United stars unhappy with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over the treatment of fringe stars
A new fan advisory board is also set to be launched to maintain communication between supporters and club officials. This is a great initiative by the owners, and it could mend the somewhat broken relationship between fans and them.
