MUST publishes Open Letter to Potential Bidders for Manchester United

To any bidder for Manchester United Football Club:

We, the undersigned, represent Manchester United fans from all backgrounds and walks of life.

We understand very well why you wish to buy the Club. We believe Manchester United is the greatest sporting institution in the world and hope we will have a new owner that will nurture, invest and, most of all, recognise that their role as the steward of Manchester United is to run the club in partnership with the supporters, in a way which recognises that a football club is far more than just a commercial asset.

As you contemplate the nature of any offer you may wish to make to the present owners, we believe it may be helpful to you to understand what supporters want from any new owner, in order to secure the support of the fans. The principles below are based on our longstanding principles established over two decades as the Supporters Trust and regular open consultation with our fans. Concurrent with the publication of this open letter (www.imust.org.uk/bidders) we have initiated a further comprehensive consultation process reaching out to every fan group and supporter globally. This will inform updates to the contents of the live letter, including addition of co-signatories, on the link above.

1.  The present owners took Manchester United from being a club with no debt to being one of the most heavily indebted football clubs in the world. That debt has never been paid down and has hung around our neck like a millstone. Any successful bid should not be based on debt and should include a commitment to replace existing debt, and fund future capital expenditure, through new share issues.

2.  Football Clubs are different from ordinary businesses. Owners of football clubs, just as all other supporters, should be giving to their club rather than taking from it for their own benefit. The present owners have taken hundreds of millions out over a prolonged period of time, during which the club has been failing. There should be no rewards for failure, and the first priority for profits should always be reinvestment into the club.

3.  Manchester United needs urgent new capital investment – to modernise both the stadium and training ground, as well as long term guarantees about available spend on players across the men’s team, women’s team and youth setup. We want to hear your plan to invest substantial funds in the playing side of the club as well as in infrastructure such as the stadium.

4.  Shared ownership with the fans as partners. In contrast to the current dual class share structure there should be a single class of shares with the same voting rights for all shareholders. The club should raise funds through regular share issues to fans, replacing debt with equity at every opportunity and growing the collective small fan shareholder stake.