Manchester United have come under fire for the club’s transfer policy in recent years from inside their own camp after Red Devils CEO Richard Arnold has bemoaned the financial direction the club has championed.
In quotes sourced by The Mirror, Arnold was filmed giving his open and honest opinions about the club’s policy and direction after meeting with a group of supporters at a pub.
Richard Arnold discusses Man Utd transfer plans and financial situation in leaked videohttps://t.co/2W2b47EA7E pic.twitter.com/KuQdDlLDYZ
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) June 18, 2022
“We have spent £1billion on players, more than anyone in Europe. I am not thrilled with where we are and it does not sit easily on whether we can get sorted for the future. But what happened is we f***ing burned through cash.”
“You can’t go to our training ground and ask where the £1billion is because I don’t think we have done well with the money we have spent historically. I’m not here to defend Joel Glazer, he can only speak for himself. I want to talk to you, you have come here to make your views known and I respect that.”
“We have blown through an enormous amount of money; for this summer, the money that the manager and the Director of Football wants, is there. For the future, for investing in a new stadium and that sort of stuff, to get a £250million training ground – we have got to do something. We have got to get investors in.”
“I need investors to do what I want to do with the club. No stadium can be built by any club without that, you either borrow the money or get investors. The money has got to come from somewhere.”
It is interesting to note that Arnold has made clear that United is fully capable of planning for heavy spending this summer under new boss Erik ten Hag, which the club hopes will include a deal for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong as one of the club’s linchpin deals moving forward.
But the club struggling to afford necessary upgrades to both the stadium and its infrastructure, and the need for it to require outside investment to become involved, is a telling indicator that United are still well off where they have the capacity to be in relation to other domestic rivals the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
With the financial mismanagement that has come with the club’s high spending in recent years, United will do well to operate more efficiently and effectively if they are to right the ship and close the gap on and off the pitch while avoiding a financial sinkhole.
