The Manchester United fan who was once the scourge of the Glazers has written to Sir Jim Ratcliffe to demand clarification on his plans for the club.
John-Paul O’Neill, the man behind the formation of rebel club FC United of Manchester when American tycoon Malcolm Glazer completed his controversial leveraged buy-out of the Reds almost 20 years ago, has sent an email to Ratcliffe containing 99 questions for Britain’s richest man to answer.
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His call for greater transparency mirrors a request from former United shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus back in 2003 for the club to answer 99 questions regarding financial affairs and transfer dealings when they were involved in a legal row with manager Sir Alex Ferguson over the ownership of champion racehorse Rock of Gibraltar.
United have confirmed they have received O’Neill’s questions. His questions to Ratcliffe include “Why did he claim last week that United would run out of cash before Christmas without declaring the perilous financial position to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA?”
O’Neill also asks: “Why did his accountants fail to warn that the club’s finances were in a desperate state before Ratcliffe paid £1.27billion for his shareholding?”
Another question sees him ask Ratcliffe: “Why did the club’s ‘Going Concern’ statement, filed in the accounts published in February, conclude that United were in a position to meet their financial commitments for 12 months?”
A selection of O’Neill’s questions:
** Why did he claim last week that United would run out of cash before Christmas without declaring the perilous financial position to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA?
** Why did his accountants fail to warn that the club’s finances were in a desperate state before Ratcliffe paid £1.27billion for his shareholding?
** Why did the club’s ‘Going Concern’ statement, filed in the accounts published in February, conclude that United were in a position to meet their financial commitments for 12 months?
** Why did United spend £200million in the transfer market last summer when they were running out of money?
** Under what circumstances are the Glazer family able to take control of United’s football operation back from Ratcliffe’s INEOS organisation given they remain majority shareholders?
** Could the proposed new £2billion Old Trafford stadium be sold and leased back to United to allow Ratcliffe and the Glazer family to bank a fortune?
** What is going to happen to the billions of pounds generated by the planned development of 17,000 new houses as part of the stadium rebuild?
** Why has Ratcliffe claimed that no public money will be used to build the stadium when Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has admitted that the government will have to spend up to £300million demolishing and relocating a freight terminal?
** Why should public money help regenerate a club owned by an American family and a billionaire businessman who lives in a tax haven?
** Will Gary Neville’s property development company be given contracts to help with the new Old Trafford development?
** Whether Ratcliffe actually supports United or Chelsea?
O’Neill was also the driving force behind the now-defunct United fanzine ‘Red Issue’, a publication that was a must-read for fans and players alike for 26 years before closing in 2015. He said: “A lot of United fans are prepared to take Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s words as gospel because they are excited about having a new stadium – but just as many have questions that remain unanswered.
“Are we really supposed to believe that one of the world ’s most successful businessmen paid the Glazers over £1billion for a stake in United without knowing every single detail of their finances? Ratcliffe has done nothing more so far to suggest he’s anything but Glazer 2.0.”
*** To read all of the 99 questions sent to Sir Jim Ratcliffe visit I Got Ninety-Nine Questions, But The Pitch Ain’t One ***
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