Since 12 May 2005
20 Years of Debt.
Enough is Enough!
In May 2005, the Glazer family completed the leveraged buy-out of Manchester United, using the club's own assets as collateral. They immediately loaded $500 million in debt onto a debt-free institution, extracted over a billion pounds, and left the world's greatest football club in decline. The Board of Directors and the Government just stood by and did nothing. This is the full story — and HOW WE CAN GET OUR BELOVED CLUB BACK. Yes, we can — if we work together.
Twenty years of broken promises. Twenty years of debt extraction. Twenty years of watching rivals invest while we stood still. The Glazers have taken over £1.4 BILLION out of our club — money that should have gone on world-class players, a new stadium, and a future worth believing in.
The anger is real. The damage is real. But so is the power of united fans. Read on — and find out what YOU can do.
Fan Power
What You Can Do
Right Now ...Join the WeLuvUnited Movement
Help build the count
Which sponsors do you use?
Since Manchester United have many sponsors, both past and present, that have done sponsorship deals with the Glazers while they continued to heap misery and suffering on United fans over the last 20 years, let's start with six sponsors to take action against. The fuller list is below, and feel free to boycott them too. Click on a name below if you plan to boycott their products going forward, until the Glazers are out and United is debt free again. Every selection helps show where you, the fan, can truly make a difference.
Selections are anonymous. Tap again to remove one.
Organise the 10-minute walk-out at every home game
So you still get to see 90% of the game — we know it's tough to boycott the whole game. This will infuriate the TV broadcasters and sponsors, seeing empty seats during the 10-minute walkout.
Do NOT buy sportswear, chocolate, and other stuff, from their sponsors
Adidas, Snapdragon, DHL, Apollo Tyres, Cadbury (this one is tough, but sacrifices have to be made), and others. The billions in lost revenues will cause the sponsors to go ballistic at the Glazers — demanding they sell up while their share price and valuation tank, as a result of this. Simple economics!
But that's not enough! After boycotting the sponsor's product, then contact the sponsor — see Fan Power for official contact options for each sponsor — and let them know they have lost a sale. If just 1% of the 800 million fan base can do this, that is still 8 million people. Imagine if 10% of the United global fan base did this: 80 million people causing sponsors to lose billions of dollars, while the Glazers cheerfully collect dividends and Old Trafford’s roof continues to leak like a waterfall on their poor supporters.
Join the WeLuvUnited Movement — Step 2 is the most critical and simplest action every fan can take.
Additional Things You Can Do
Kill the TV Revenue
TV Broadcast rights are the Glazers' single biggest revenue stream — make the viewing figures TANK. Again we know how tough it is to miss our games, and so we will share some good ideas with you.
Social Media Pressure
Flood every United post, every sponsor post with #GlazersOut #MUST #FanOwnership. Coordinated. Relentless. Global.
Peaceful Demos Outside Sponsor Stores & Corporate Offices
Take placards to Adidas stores, Cadbury offices and sponsor premises. "Don't buy Adidas — Glazers Out!", "Let's give Cadbury's a miss until the Glazers are out." Peaceful, legal, loud.
Join MUST
The Manchester United Supporters Trust — fighting for fan ownership since 2005. Join. Donate. Amplify their voice.
Make the cameras see empty seats
The 10 -minute walkout, from the 58th Minute, returning in the 68th minute
We know it's hard walking out of the game! So we are urging you to do a 10-minute walkout instead.
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What does this mean exactly?
You contribute to the cause (unless you support the Glazers), and still get to see about 90% of the game. You — and everyone else — walk out of Old Trafford in the 58th minute and return to your seat in the 68th minute (10 minutes later) of every home game, or the big games.
Empty seats broadcast a message no boardroom or sponsors can ignore — as the world's cameras will be watching Old Trafford.
58'
Walk Out
The 58th minute was chosen to honour those who perished in the 1958 Munich Air Crash.
68'
Return
The 68th minute signifies that magnificent win over Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final at Wembley.
Two of Munich's greatest survivors — Matt Busby and Bobby Charlton — led the charge that humid night in 1968, showing the phoenix rising from the burning ashes of the tragic air crash just 10 years earlier, to now conquer Europe and all that stood before them, as Charlton and Best dazzled!
"This becomes a protest filled with history, highly charged emotion and our undying love and support for our club, Manchester United."
Hit the commercial revenue
Boycott Sponsor Products
Every pound you spend with a Manchester United sponsor is a pound that ultimately benefits the Glazers. Research the club's current commercial partners before you buy. When you choose a competitor's product instead, you send a direct financial signal.
10% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION are Manchester United supporters. Even if just 1 in 10 United supporters boycott sponsor products, that will still result in $2 BILLION in revenues lost to the sponsors' competition — directly because of the Glazers owning our club.
Then contact the sponsor — see Fan Power for official contact options for each sponsor — and let them know they have lost a sale. If just 1% of the 800 million fan base can do this, that is still 8 million people. Imagine if 10% of the United global fan base did this: 80 million people causing sponsors to lose billions of dollars, while the Glazers cheerfully collect dividends and Old Trafford’s roof continues to leak like a waterfall on supporters.
If we really want to play hardball, we could launch the movement to boycott ALL major sponsors between 2006 till now — which would include AIG, Aon, Chevrolet, Nike and Kohler, who collectively do about $300 Billion in global revenues. Just 1% marketing penetration (1 in 10 United fans) will cause $3 Billion per annum in losses. Why do it since they are no longer a sponsor? They were a sponsor AFTER the Glazers took charge and drowned us — for that, you must pay! Can you imagine these former sponsors also going after the Glazers? They will have to sell out, and we make sure any new owner clears the debt and fixes that damn leaky roof.
LET'S DO IT! GET THOSE GREEDY MAGGOTS OUT OF OUR BELOVED CLUB!!!
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Don't watch. Don't stream.
Kill the TV Revenue
Broadcast rights are the single largest revenue stream for the Glazers. Sky Sports, TNT Sports, and international broadcasters pay billions based on viewing figures. Coordinate blackout days — don't watch, don't stream, don't check scores on apps that count as views. Make the numbers crater. Make the broadcasters nervous. Make the Glazers feel it. Again we know how tough it is to miss our games, so get creative and share resources for instance (i) by gathering at a friend's place to watch rather than watching alone (creates a better atmosphere) (ii) avoid the result and watch free, authorized highlights after the game (on YouTube for example) (iii) watch at a pub (iv) come on and get creative!
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Take it to their front door
Peaceful Demos Outside Sponsor Stores & Corporate Offices
Peaceful, visible, organised demonstrations outside Adidas stores, Cadbury offices, Snapdragon showrooms and other sponsor premises send a message that no boardroom memo can ignore. Placards, chants, leaflets — make the public and the press take notice. Suggested placard messages:
"Don't buy Adidas — Glazers Out!" "Let's give Cadbury's a miss until the Glazers are out" "Snapdragon: Drop the Glazers or lose our business" "Sponsors: You fund the Glazers. We fund you. Think about it."
Keep it peaceful, keep it legal, keep it loud. Coordinate with MUST and local fan groups for maximum impact.
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The Manchester United Supporters Trust
Join MUST
MUST is the official supporters trust fighting for fan ownership and meaningful governance reform at Manchester United. They have been at the forefront of the anti-Glazer campaign since 2005. Join. Donate. Amplify their voice. Fan ownership is the only long-term solution — Barcelona and Real Madrid show it works.
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The Record
How They Destroyed
Our Club
First Approach
Malcolm Glazer begins quietly buying up Manchester United shares. The club and fans are largely unaware of what is coming.
Stake Grows to 28%
Glazer increases his shareholding. Fan groups raise the alarm. The board does nothing. Green and Gold scarves begin appearing in the stands.
The Takeover — The Dark Day
The Glazer family completes a leveraged buyout, acquiring 98% of shares. Crucially, they use the club's own assets as collateral — loading £525 million of debt directly onto Manchester United. A debt-free club is shackled overnight.
Debt Spirals — £700m+
Interest payments on the leveraged debt consume hundreds of millions. Money that should fund transfers and infrastructure instead flows to banks and Glazer family members. The club issues £500m in payment-in-kind bonds at 16.25% interest.
IPO — Cashing Out
The Glazers float Manchester United on the New York Stock Exchange. They pocket hundreds of millions while retaining control through a dual-class share structure that gives them 10 votes per share. Fans get nothing.
Ferguson Retires — The Rot Sets In
Sir Alex Ferguson retires. Without his authority to shield the club from ownership interference, the consequences of years of underinvestment become impossible to hide. The decline begins in earnest.
Six Managers in Eleven Years
Moyes. Van Gaal. Mourinho. Solskjær. Rangnick. Ten Hag. Amorim. Billions spent on players with no coherent strategy. The Glazers extracted over £1 billion in fees and dividends while the club fell from the summit of English football.
Sale Process Announced — Then Abandoned
The Glazers announce they are open to selling. Fans dare to hope. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bid. After months of theatre, the Glazers sell only 25% to Ratcliffe — retaining majority control and extracting yet more cash in the process.
Still Here. Still Extracting.
The Glazers retain majority ownership and voting control. The debt burden continues. The club continues to underperform. The fans continue to fight. This is not over.
"Football clubs exist for their supporters. Not for their owners. Not for their shareholders. For the people who stand on the terraces, generation after generation.
The Lesson From Our Arch Rivals
Liverpool fans did it.
WHY CAN'T UNITED FANS DO IT?
Liverpool — our arch rivals, borne out of mutual respect and jealousy over history, trophies, tragedies and successes — showed the world what organised fan power can achieve. Tom Hicks and George Gillett bought Liverpool in 2007 using substantial debt, just like the Glazers buying Manchester United. Liverpool supporters became furious about the debt, broken promises over a new stadium, and the lack of investment.
A major development was the creation of the supporters' union Spirit of Shankly. It organised and coordinated opposition rather than relying on scattered individual protests. Fans used match-day demonstrations, marches, banners, organised campaigns, publicity and billboard advertising. In 2010, Spirit of Shankly put up large billboards around Liverpool attacking Hicks and Gillett and declaring them unwelcome.
The relentless pressure worked. The Liverpool board agreed to sell to New England Sports Ventures — now Fenway Sports Group — despite Hicks and Gillett fighting the transaction in court. The sale went through on 15 October 2010 for £300 million, and the acquisition debt placed on Liverpool was eliminated.
"Fan anger → organised supporter movement → relentless negative publicity and protests → pressure around the club and its financiers → owners already under severe debt pressure → forced sale despite owners' resistance."
There is an important difference between Liverpool 2010 and Manchester United today — Hicks and Gillett were financially vulnerable because their financing was reaching a crisis point. Simply copying Liverpool's protests probably would not be enough on its own to force the Glazers out.
That is why WeLuvUnited is building a slightly different strategy — one that applies pressure outside the stadium and beyond the owners themselves. Liverpool supporters recognised that the financial ecosystem surrounding the owners mattered. Our sponsor strategy is the modern version of that idea:
Supporters → Sponsors → Commercial Revenue → Manchester United → Glazers OUT
A global boycott of Adidas, Snapdragon, Cadbury and other sponsors — backed by United's estimated 10% of the world's football fans — can impact sponsor revenues and bring down the Glazers. Add the 10-minute walkout at home games between the 58th and 68th minute, and the fury from sponsors and TV broadcasters will do the rest. We need every United fan group, organisation and social media outlet pushing this message. Let's act as one body. Let's take down the Glazers, once and for all.
Spread the word
The Club Is Ours.
Take It Back.
Boycott sponsors. Walk out at the 58th & return at the 68th minute. Make noise. Make it count. Twenty years is long enough.
Coordinated. Relentless. Global.
Social Media Pressure
Flood every Manchester United post, every sponsor post, every broadcast post with #GlazersOut #MUST #FanOwnership. Don't let a single commercial announcement go unchallenged. Tag journalists, MPs, football governance bodies. The internet never forgets and neither do we. Organised social pressure has forced boardrooms to act before — it can again.
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