The Glazer family have defender Manchester
United boss Sir Alex
Ferguson's decision not to use the money raised from
Cristiano Ronaldo's sale.
As clubs like Real Madrid and
neighbours Manchester City spend
hugely to get to the top of their respective divisions, the
Barclays Premier League
champions have declared their spending closed after the arrival of
Antonio Valencia (£20m), Gabriel
Obertan (£3m) and Michael Owen (free transfer).
Glazer spokesman Teshin Nayani said: "The manager has not been
able to locate players that he believes fit the Manchester United
mindset. Ones that are motivated to play for United. You don’t want
to pay over the odds for players not willing to give their
all."
The Glazer family continue to carry a debt of around £700m
following their purchase of the club five years ago. But Nayani
claimed that this has nothing to do with Ferguson’s decision to
keep hold of the Ronaldo money.
He added: "Our operating profits are climbing and we continue to
secure sponsorship deals. Our stadium is packed out and we have
very good media revenues. On a normal business level, United is in
a very strong position and, so far, unaffected by the economic
downturn.
"The manager has a significant amount of money to invest if he
wants to. We do have debt service and carry a significant amount of
debt but our interest payments are around £43.3m a year while our
operating profit was £80m topped by an extra £25m from transfer
profits.
"We are talking about a net amount of about £60m. That cash can
be reinvested in the squad. The point is there is money coming
in."