The Irish Independent serves up a report of Manchester United’s player spending since the club was bought by American mogul Malcolm Glazer in May 2005, and finds thatArsenal is the only English club to have spent less than United in the transfer market that has also participated in the UEFA Champions League in the Glazer era. In other words, Chelsea, ManchesterCity, Tottenham and Liverpool have all heavily outspent the Old Trafford outfit in the past eight-and-a-half seasons.
Why? Well, the report notes that a whopping $1.15 billion has gone towardservicing the Glazer’s massive debt in the form of interest fees, bank charges and debt repayment, while $631 million has gone toward player transfers.
The Independent notes that beforethe arrival of the Glazers, Alex Ferguson, who retired as United coach last May, broke the British transfer record five times between 1986 and 2005. Perhaps the Glazer’s frugalapproach to player acquisition contributed to his desire to retire from management last spring?
As former United captain