Real deal! Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney on Madrid's radar

23 January 2010 21:54
At around half past three on Saturday afternoon, Old Trafford resounded with a new and, some would insist, ominous chant. 'Love United,' sang the faithful. 'Hate Glazer.' [LNB]But as the gold-and-green colours of the protest movement whose aim is to see the back of the club's American owners temporarily outshone the more familiar red of Manchester United, the reality was that, for those deeply concerned fans, the footballing fortunes of the club who have dominated domestic competition for almost two decades are about to come under intense pressure. [LNB]For the biggest clubs in Europe still perceive United under the Glazer family as a financially weak rival who were forced to sell their best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, to Real Madrid last summer because of the £80million fee on offer. [LNB] Four-some: Rooney scored all of Manchester United's goals in their 4-0 win[LNB]And the inevitable result of that perception is that this comingsummer will see two more of United's most important players, WayneRooney and Nemanja Vidic, on Real's radar as the Spanish giants preparefor another summer of massive spending in the transfer market. [LNB]Rooney chose yesterday to remind Old Trafford of just how crucial heis to United, scoring all four goals in a 4-0 Premier League victoryover Hull City. [LNB]While only Vidic is realistically likely to end up at the SantiagoBernabeu Stadium, the fact that Real feel they can return to OldTrafford and pluck their best players at will indicates United'svulnerability, something highlighted by last week's refinancing of theclub by their American owners. [LNB]Although the Glazers will be delighted that their £500m bond issuehas been a success, with demand high, it does appear to have galvanisedlarge swathes of United fans against the family. Tony Lloyd, Labour MPfor Manchester Central, is expected to put down an early-day motion inthe House of Commons this week raising concerns over the indebtednessof English football and the ownership structure of clubs such asUnited. [LNB]Changing places: Real are after United's Rooney [LNB][LNB]And yesterday the gold and green colours of United's 1878incarnation, Newton Heath, were on display at Old Trafford as a protestagainst the Glazer model of management, which now allows them to takeup to more than £160m out of the club in dividends and management feesover the next seven years. [LNB]The angry mood of fans, which saw large sections of the stadiumchanting 'We want Glazer out!', is now sufficient for manager Sir AlexFerguson to deem it a problem. [LNB]'Manchester United are under pressure as a result of the issues andcontroversies surrounding the ownership of the club,' he saidyesterday. [LNB]'Everyone is entitled to their opinion and to express disapproval.Some of our fans aren't happy, but we must not allow it to becomedivisive.[LNB] 'The danger, as I see it, is that we could be presented as beingsplit, which would be harmful and inaccurate because I believe the vastmajority of fans are behind us. I could see our opponents rubbing theirhands with glee at the thought of watching us fall out among ourselvesif we don't all think carefully about what we are doing.' [LNB]Sean Bones, spokesman for the Manchester United Supporters' Trust,said: 'We completely agree with Sir Alex's call for loyalty to the teambut all loyal United supporters have to do their bit to rid the club ofthe Glazers.' [LNB]Many fans fear the sale of Ronaldo will not be the last high-profiledeparture. Real Madrid are already confident that Vidic will join themin the summer if sporting director Jorge Valdano decides that theSerbian is their defender of choice. [LNB] I'm the man: Rooney has been on top of his game this season [LNB][LNB]Madrid acknowledge that tempting Rooney away from a club at which hecould see out his career would be more problematic and United remainconfident that the England striker will renew his contract at the club,which ends in 2012, later this year.[LNB] 'Unlike Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne has never shown any indication that he wants to leave,' said a source close to the player. [LNB]'He has a great relationship with the manager and everybody else atthe club. There will be no problems over a new contract. When the timecomes all parties concerned will sit down and everything will be sortedout.' [LNB]However, United are likely to have to pay even more heavily thanpreviously to secure the services of their star man, who is crucial tothe long-term success of the club. [LNB]Money-man: Chelsea skipper John Terry [LNB][LNB]Rooney can expect to receive £170,000 a week from his new deal, abig rise on his current package of about £100,000 a week and matchingthe pay of England captain John Terry at Chelsea. [LNB]A complication for United's salary calculations is the move by thetaxman to investigate their use of image rights deals with players.[LNB] The taxman is claiming these agreements are, in fact, part of a player's normal earnings and should be taxed at 50 per cent.[LNB] If the Inland Revenue win their case, United will have to find moremoney to compensate Rooney for the loss of the tax break he currentlyreceives on his image rights contract.[LNB] The added expense will, of course, pale into insignificance againstthe £68m a year United make in interest payments, which fans claim iscrippling the club, making it impossible for them to compete with RealMadrid, Barcelona and Arsenal in the coming decade. [LNB]The Glazers continue to insist, as does Ferguson, that there ismoney to spend if the manager requires it. And it is true that Unitedare in a more financially stable position than a week ago, as they willnow be freed from restrictions imposed upon them by their £509m bankloan. [LNB]Most importantly, the Glazers will now be able to start paying offthe most dangerous section of the club's £716m borrowings, thenotorious PIK loans, which are charged at potentially ruinous interestrates and have risen to £202m since the Glazers took over in 2005. [LNB]The interest on these loans is not paid immediately but added to theloan and is due to be paid back in 2017, by which time it will haverisen to more than £500m. [LNB]The prospectus for the bond issue raised the idea of selling OldTrafford and the training ground at Carrington, and leasing it back,which would wipe out a huge chunk but further infuriate fans. [LNB]However, under the terms of the new credit arrangements, the Glazerswill be entitled to pay themselves dividends of up £25m each year, aslong as they reach agreed profit targets. [LNB]This means the revenue the club generates over the next seven yearsshould help the family make significant inroads into the potentiallydestablising PIK loans. The gamble the Glazers are taking is thatUnited will be able to maintain their dominance during the next, sevenunsure years. [LNB]If they fail to do that, then the voice of protest will surely become deafening. [LNB] Wayne Rooney's fantastic four puts United back on top of the Premier LeagueSir Alex Ferguson insists Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez should have been sent offManchester Utd 4 Hull City 0: Four-some Rooney sends United back to the top of the table MANCHESTER UNITED FC

Source: Daily_Mail