Fred Done regrets not buying Manchester United
Bookmaker says United fans are ‘watching rubbish’
Glazers are using the champions as ‘purely a financial instrument’
Everything ‘from catering to what’s on the pitch is better’ at Manchester City
Manchester United need an Arab sheik or a Russian oligarch to solve their current crisis, according to a self-made Salford millionaire who came close to buying the club a few years ago.
Fred Done, a lifelong supporter who set up the Betfred bookmakers with his brother Peter in 1967, launched a savage attack on United’s owners, the Florida-based Glazer family.
The Glazers have kept a low profile as United’s season has lurched from one crisis to another. They are currently seventh in the Barclays Premier League, fell at the first hurdle in the FA Cup and are facing elimination from the Champions League.
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Speaking out: Betfred founder and lifelong Manchester United fan Fred Done has claimed it will take a £2bn offer from an Arab sheik or Russian oligarch to persuade the Glazer family to sell the club
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Low profile: United’s owners, (from left) Joel, Avram and Bryan Glazer, have come under pressure to spend after the team’s poor start under David Moyes
Bad form: Moyes’s first season in charge at Old Trafford has lurched from one crisis to another
Though the Glazers did sanction the £37million purchase of Juan Mata in January, Done believes a £2billion buy-out by an Arab or Russian billionaire, like Sheik Mansour at Manchester City or Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, is the only way the team can get back on track.
‘It breaks my heart,’ Done told the Manchester Evening News. ‘They’re sat in Florida while 70,000 who love the club are paying for their debt and dividends and are not seeing a good team. We’re watching rubbish.
‘It’s purely a financial instrument for the Glazers. When the right cheque is waved at them they will go.
‘It will take an Arab sheik or a Russian oligarch. Look at City. They are murdering them.
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Consortium: Done (left) was close to joining the Red Knights in 2010, a group of United-supporting businessmen who wanted to buy out the Glazers
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Abysmal: Wayne Rooney and Co are seventh in the Premier League and on the brink of elimination to Olympiacos in the Champions League
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No cup of cheer: United could not even find any solace in the domestic cup competitions
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Off the pace: Manchester United are currently seventh in the Barclays Premier League
‘When you go there everything from the catering to what is on the pitch is better than United at the moment. Sheik Mansour does not care about a return on his money.
‘He has done fantastic for City and for the city of Manchester. The Glazers want dividends.’
Done added that he regretted not getting involved with the Red Knights, a group of wealthy United supporters who wanted to buy the club from the Glazers in 2010.
‘I was asked on three occasions would I join,’ he said. ‘If I wanted United I would want to own it for myself.’
United return to action at West Bromwich on Saturday lunchtime.
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Successful formula: Sheik Mansour is a popular figure at Manchester City after delivering investment and silverware
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Improved fortunes: Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich transformed Chelsea into contenders for major trophies at home and abroad
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The post Man United need an Arab sheik or Russian oligarch with £2bn to solve crisis, says Salford betting millionaire Done is from World Observer Online.