3. Fc mu current situation

3.1. Fc mu Structure

Manchester United is owned by Glazer Family through a complicated chain of companies owned by them. The basic entity is Red Football Group which has subsidiaries in both US and UK. Red Football Shareholder Limited is the Group’s representative in England and is also fully owned by Glazers.

Figure 3.1. Manchester United Financial Structure

UK branch of this structure also has intermediaries with a Manchester United Limited company which stands for the operations of the Club and related activities. Figure 4.1 represents the companies involved in the financial chain and the subsidiary relationships between them. They include:

• Red Football Group – the limited group of companies and trusts based mainly in US and engaged in financial activities related to MU’s ownership and debt issues.

• Red Football Shareholder Limited – UK-based company owned by the family which owns the business in England.

• Manchester United Limited – the core company of the MU’s businesses which used to be listed on London stock exchange before the acquisition by Glazer’s.

• MU Finance plc – a subsidiary which deals with the financial issues of the club itself.

• Manchester United Football Club Limited – a company which operates the Club, the Reserves and the Academy.

• MU Interactive Limited – is a media company which is responsible for media activities of the Club, such as website and digital content.

• MUTV Limited – is a company 2/3 of which is owned by MU and 1/3 by Sky Ventures limited of the Sky Group. The principal activity of MUTV is the television production and broadcasting. The key revenue streams for MUTV are sales to United Kingdom and Irish domestic cable and satellite subscribers (through cable and satellite retailers) and international distribution of its programming²⁷.

• Alderly Urban Investments Limited – is a company which main activity is a commercial lease in respect of the land and buildings at Trafford Park near Old Trafford.

The company’s main activity is of course football which is just a small part of this financial structure described above. MU is engaged in different activities in football perspective including the growth of the youth footballers. The core business is split into three main areas²⁸:

1. First Team

First Team represents the main stars and the sportsmen who bring glory to the club. It consists of 50 players including such stars as Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs. Six of those players are currently playing on loan in other football clubs in order to have the real game practice and progress professionally.

• Team manager: Sit Alex Ferguson

2. Reserves

Reserves consist of 24 players which are the reserve team of MU. They play in the North section of the Premier Reserve League which represents the reserve team of the English Premier League.

• Team manager: Warren Joyce

• Home stadium: Moss Lane in Altrincham

3. The Academy

The Academy represents the core of the youth source at Manchester United, and has been responsible for producing some of MU's greatest ever players, including Ryan Giggs, Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville. The Academy has its own youth team which is so far statistically most successful youth team in England. The academy is split into several age groups: Under 9-10s, Under 11-12s, Under 13-16s, Under 18s.

• Location: Trafford Training Centre, Manchester

• Director of Academy Football: Brian McClair

• Director of Youth Football: Jimmy Ryan

• Youth Coach: Andy Welsh