SOCCER: MANCHESTER UNITED'S owners have made it clear to Alex Ferguson he has a substantial transfer budget at his disposal for big-name targets during a summer in which the club's bank account will swell to €196 million.
The €19.6 million signing of the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea will not be the last big signing during a close season in which the club will spend more than in recent years, and Ferguson has been given the green light to target “the best players in the world”. The Glazers have consistently maintained the manager has funds to spend, but fans have questioned the club’s ability to compete for the biggest names, amid concern at the club’s debt levels and interest commitments.
Having smashed the pay ceiling to give Wayne Rooney a contract worth around €231,000 a week in the wake of his threat to leave, the owners are said to be “relaxed” about the prospect of Ferguson breaking the bank to sign a marquee name.
It was the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for €92 million in 2009, followed by the departure of Carlos Tevez to Manchester City weeks later, that raised concerns among United fans worried that the demands of servicing the loans loaded on to the club had left it unable to compete for the best players.
Club insiders say any acquisitions will have to fit the template followed by Manchester United under the Glazers, with an emphasis on younger players who will retain value. The club has bought one player in the past 14 years who was over 27 and cost more than €3.5 million – Dimitar Berbatov for €36 million.
According to Manchester United’s most recent accounts, the club have €130 million in the bank. That has fuelled suspicions the owners will withdraw some of it in dividends but insiders claim it is there for transfers and to guard against unforeseen events. “What Sir Alex wants, Sir Alex will get,” said one.
That figure will rise to €196 million by the end of the summer, once season-ticket revenue for the coming season is banked. Despite racking up a record pre-tax loss of €126 million last year, much of that was attributable to one-off costs associated with a €577 million bond issue.
The chief executive, David Gill, has repeatedly stated the club will comfortably be able to pay the €52 million annual interest on those bonds, especially as it now owns 26 per cent of them, and still has about €72 million in cash every year due to global growth in commercial and TV revenues.
Meanwhile, Kolo Toure will discover today whether he is to face an extended ban for failing a drugs test, with the Manchester City player due to appear before a FA disciplinary hearing to explain why he tested positive for a specified substance in February.
Toure’s legal team are expected to argue that the Ivory Coast international did not know he was breaking rules when he apparently took his wife’s dieting pills and that he was concerned about his weight because of the intense competition for places at Eastlands.
However, the 30-year-old is braced for a substantial ban, quite possibly into next year, if the case is proven against him, after being the first Premier League footballer since Adrian Mutu to be charged with taking an illegal substance. The FA can operate a range a punishments up to a two-year suspension, although whatever it decides for the former Arsenal player will be backdated to the date when he was suspended by his club.
If Toure is found guilty and punished with a ban that goes into next season, he will not even be allowed to train with his City team-mates. He will argue he has been heavily punished after missing the culmination to a season that finished with City qualifying for the Champions League for the first time as well as winning the FA Cup, their first trophy since 1976.
Roberto Mancini is keen to bring in another centre-half to play alongside Vincent Kompany, and a ban of nine months or longer for Toure could have dire consequences for his future at the club.
Guardian Service
