By Telema Davies
The American businessman and Manchester United Football Club’s owner, Malcolm Glazer, is dead. Glazer Snr, who came into public prominence after his controversial takeover of the English club in 2005, died yesterday at the age of 85. Malcolm Glazer has been ill for some time and handed running of the club to his sons Joel and Avram. He will be remembered as the man who drove the purchase of the club against over a two-year period in the last decade past.
The Florida-based millionaire is accused of plunging the club into more than £500 million in debt. The death of the Glazer patriarch was first announced on the website of Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Glazer family remain owners of the American football franchise, which they bought in 1995. Glazer served as president of the team, while sons Bryan, Joel and Edward are co-chairman. Under the family’s ownership, the franchise experienced an upswing in fortunes.
Malcolm Glazer had a winning approach in his transaction and this was evident in his purchase of the Buccaneers, which won its first Super Bowl Championship in Super Bowl XXXVII. The experience of his ownership at the football franchise was what he brought into his purchase of the English Premier League club. Manchester United has had continued success since their purchase by the Glazer family. The club was crowned Premier League winners, Europe champions and FIFA World Club Winners in 2008.
Under the Glazer ownership, the club has won five League championships, three League cups, five FA Community Shields, one UEFA Champions League and a FIFA World Club Cup. Manchester United has grown to become one of the most popular and profitable football clubs in the world. The club’s worldwide fan base includes more than 200 officially recognized branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUSC), in at least 24 countries.
The club has more than 2 million followers on Google+, 42 million likes on Facebook and a growing following on Twitter of 2.5 million. The club takes advantage of this support through its worldwide tours.
Tributes have continued to pour in for the late patriarch. NFL commissioner said of him: “Malcolm Glazer was the guiding force behind the building of a Super Bowl-champion organization. His dedication to the community was evident in all he did, including his leadership in bringing Super Bowls to Tampa Bay.” He did add: “Malcolm’s commitment to the Bucs, the NFL and the people of the Tampa Bay region are the hallmarks of his legacy.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Linda, their six children and the entire Glazer family.” Such heartfelt sympathy however, will be shared in little form among many of the United fans. They still feel angst at what they consider to be a hostile acquisition of the club and blame him for the money drained from Old Trafford.
A statement on the website of the Manchester club reads: ”the thoughts of everyone at Manchester United are with the Glazer family.”