Roy Keane made profit from Man Utd takeover after secret contract clause
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane benefited financially from the Glazer family's takeover of the club in 2005, the Irishman admitted in his autobiography.
The Glazers' time at the helm looked as though it might come to an end after they put the club up for sale in November 2022. Instead, though, new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe has taken a stake worth 25 percent, with the American owners remaining at the helm.
Throughout the first 18 years of Glazer ownership, there have been a number of fan protests and general dissatisfaction with their running of the club. Even some ex-players have publicly criticised the owners, but Keane - through his shareholding - admitted to having some benefit when the sale went through.
"'From the players’ point of view, it didn’t bother us too much," Keane wrote in his book 'The Second Half', which was published in 2014. "I had a few shares in the club as part of my contract. So the Glazers coming in was worth a few bob to me," he added.
Keane's former teammate Gary Neville, however, has continually laid into the Glazers. The former captain didn't even let the Ratcliffe announcement - made public on Christmas Eve - slow him down.
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"Manchester United 2023 has been a disgrace to the end," Neville wrote on social media. "The timing of this is truly awful and no functioning organisation would even think about it. Anyway, all the very best to Jim Ratcliffe and I hope he can somehow work out a way to get the club right again and back to being something respectable on and off the pitch."
Will the new investment help Manchester United turn things around? Have your say in the comments section
Joel Glazer and brother Avram retain a significant shareholding at Manchester United (AP)Ratcliffe describes himself as a boyhood Manchester United fan, and made reference to this when his investment - worth an estimated £1.3billion - was confirmed. While Ratcliffe will take charge of football operations, the Glazers will remain the largest shareholders.
"As a local boy and a lifelong supporter of the Club, I am very pleased that we have been able to agree a deal with the Manchester United Board that delegates us management responsibility of the football operations of the Club," the 71-year-old said. "Whilst the commercial success of the Club has ensured there have always been available funds to win trophies at the highest level, this potential has not been fully unlocked in recent times.
"We will bring the global knowledge, expertise and talent from the wider INEOS Sport group to help drive further improvement at the Club, while also providing funds intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford. We are here for the long term and recognise that a lot of challenges and hard work lie ahead, which we will approach with rigour, professionalism and passion.
"We are committed to working with everyone at the Club – the Board, staff, players and fans – to help drive the Club forward. Our shared ambition is clear: we all want to see Manchester United back where we belong, at the very top of English, European and world football."
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