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Kieran Maguire: Glazers made £18m move to avoid 'angry' Man United fans
The Glazers decided to not take dividends from Man United in 2022/23 and further ‘anger’ already enraged fans as the club is already low on cash.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about why the Glazers chose not to take more money out of the club.
The Red Devils released their 2022/23 financial accounts on Thursday (26 October) revealing record-breaking revenue of £648.4 million.
However, the club still made an overall loss of £42million, adding to the £115m net loss posted in 2021/22.
Because of the club’s heavy losses in recent years, United have found themselves restricted by the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules.
The 2022/23 accounts also revealed that the Glazers decided against taking their annual dividends out of the club.
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United paid £33.6million out in dividends in 2021/22 to the Glazer family and other board members.
Maguire believes the Glazers will have been advised to not take dividends last season, especially as they are still trying to sell the club.
“If you take a look at the level of debt at the club, the cash balances are significantly down and the club has made losses,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Not for the first year, but for a series of years.
“There was very little wiggle room as far as the Glazers were concerned from a legal perspective.
“But even though they have very thick skins, I think it would have been a complete lack of reading the room if they took dividends.
“It would have enhanced the anger displayed by Manchester United fans towards the owners if they took their usual £18million after the club came nowhere near winning the Premier League or a senior European competition.
“So I think the Glazers will have taken some advice.
“Also, it doesn’t look good if you’re trying to sell a company but also draining it with cash simultaneously.“
In other news, Sir Jim Ratcliffe set to complete Man United takeover within weeks