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Mark! wrote:yeh, and me eh blame the man
According to reports Wesley Sneijder must make a transfer demand to Inter Milan if he us to secure a move to Manchester United.
The Daily Star claims United are still in the hunt for the Dutchman with a £36 million offer on the table..
Talks between United and Sneijder’s representatives have taken place and it is understood the midfielder has agreed a deal of around £190,000 a week at Old Trafford.
However, despite it being reported that the two clubs had agreed a fee, it seems Inter will now only sell if the Netherlands maestro demands a transfer.
A source said: “If Wesley Sneijder wants to join Manchester United he can make it happen.
“But he will have to take the initiative because Inter seem adamant he is going nowhere.
“They may be left with no choice but to sell him for a big price, though, if he makes it clear he wants out.”
The Glazer family are considering the sale of up to 30 per cent of Manchester United to raise £600m which they may reinvest in the club or use to pay off the huge debts they incurred in buying it.
A number of financial sources disclosed yesterday that United are pursuing an IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the Singapore Stock Exchange – a move which would make the club publicly accountable in a way it has not been since the turbulent final days of the old plc, which the Glazers took private in 2005 by buying out John Magnier and J P McManus.
The decision to give up private ownership will expose their finances to greater public scrutiny, after the relative peace of the past six years which Sir Alex Ferguson has taken great delight in – having fallen out so spectacularly with the Irishmen. A detailed prospectus will accompany the IPO and United will be required to provide a far more extensive picture of their finances than the two-page statements which have become the norm since the Glazers' takeover.The decision to launch in Singapore will raise eyebrows, as it invites the prospect of one of the most distinguished English clubs being 70 to 75 per cent owned by Americans and 25 to 30 per cent by Asians. The Singapore market is more difficult for British investors to access, which is likely to be why United have targeted it rather than the more open London Stock Exchange. The Premier League will put new shareholders through their "fit and proper person test" if they hold a 10 per cent stake or more.
United supporters may suspect that the Glazers want to raise money to pay off some of their own debts relating to the ownership of the club, since no explanation has ever been given as to how the family managed to pay off £220m worth of payment-in-kind notes last year. But it is highly unlikely that money raised by the IPO would not be used to pay down the club's own debt and free it to focus on its development as a business. The club spends about £45m a year to service a £500m bond and if that burden can be removed by the float – expected by the end of the year – the Glazers' move would appear to be a positive one for United and Ferguson.
The United manager has spent heavily this summer, with £50m going out on Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David de Gea, but the debt payments are a significant consideration for the business, despite the club's insistence that a substantial war chest has been available since Cristiano Ronaldo's £80m departure in 2009.
The most likely structure of the IPO would limit shareholdings to fund managers and institutional investors, rather than individuals. But whatever its composition, there will be shareholder pressure to use money raised to pay down the club's debt and increase the prospect of a dividend – as well as supporter pressure to use the IPO to make more funds available to Ferguson for his squad.
Though an IPO would effectively return United to plc status, the Glazers' majority shareholding prevents any single new investor assuming a position of power. That means it will not presage the kind of public battles which at the height of the war between Ferguson and the Irishmen over the stud rights to the horse Rock of Gibraltar, saw the businessmen's Cubic Expression – 28.9 per cent owners in United – deliver its infamous "99 questions" letter to the board and allow its disclosure to the national press.
The IPO had been expected on the $2.7trn Hong Kong Stock Exchange but Singapore's $600m exchange is likely to have been selected because of its less exacting demands. Hong Kong requires that new companies are profitable which United, after debt, is not. The club's parent company, Red Football Joint Venture, announced a record £104.7m loss in March because of costs related to swapping a long-term bank loan for the dollar and sterling bond last year and because of lower income from player sales.
If the debt burden can be removed, United's finances can race even further ahead. The Glazers' commercial operation, led by former J P Morgan banker Edward Woodward, has secured global sponsorship and licensing agreements which have led to annual revenue doubling to about £300m in six years. Uefa also said yesterday that United's £53.2m share of last season's Champions League prize money was more than any other club received, despite the club's defeat in the final. Winners Barcelona earned only £51m because broadcast deals which are factored into the payout were worth less in Spain than England.
The Credit Suisse Group is understood to be working on the IPO. United yesterday declined to discuss the issue, stating that it does not comment on speculation.
Manchester United is pressing ahead with plans to float shares on the Singapore Stock Exchange to reduce its debts and develop its business in the Far East, with a listing expected before the end of the year.
The club currently has debts of £500m which have saddled it with annual repayments of £45m, but hopes to clear its liabilities through the flotation.
The M.E.N understands the club's American owners, the Glazer family, are planning to sell up to 30 per cent of their stake to raise around £600m. Any surplus after paying down the debts could be used to give United more fire power to overcome rivals such as Manchester City in the transfer market.
The club has lodged a preliminary application to launch the initial public offering – or flotation – in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The submission process will take between four and 12 weeks, followed by a further fortnight of administrative proceedings and investor roadshows.
United has 192 million supporters in Asia, out of a worldwide total of 333 million, and the flotation means the club will be able to develop its commercial links and sponsorships and increase its fan base in the region.
The Red Devils have fan clubs in Thailand, South Korea and Singapore, where there is also a United-themed restaurant. A playing tour of the region was undertaken in June and took in Singapore.
In contrast to much of the western world which is in a deep recession, Asia's markets are booming.
Singapore Stock Exchange has been selected ahead of its Hong Kong counterpart for the listing and senior officials from United have travelled to the country for discussions ahead of the IPO.
Manchester United were not commenting but a Far East source close to the process told the M.E.N: "An application has been submitted to the Singapore Stock Exchange. It has been decided to list shares in Asia because of the club's huge fan base there. It is also an important region commercially, and the club is looking to the region for further growth.
"The IPO will help pay down debt and further growth the Asia business. It's at an early stage." Credit Suisse is co-ordinating the IPO.
Duncan Drasdo, chief executive of the Manchester United Supporters' Trust, said: "While on the surface, fans should welcome any reduction in the unsustainable debt burden on the club, if this Eastern promise from the Glazers seems too good to be true, it's because it probably is.
"The share sale will be in the Glazers' interests - to pay down their debt - not the club's. What we wish to see is a full sale to progressive owners who are interested in investing in the club's future so we can compete with Europe's finest, currently Barcelona. Ultimately, our ambition is for shared fan ownership of a better United.
"The danger is that a partial flotation will provide a poisoned pill to any such progressive potential owners. And by reducing the Glazers' personal debt we will continue to be saddled with these absentee landlords. To any United fans considering buying shares at the Glazers' initial offer price- buyer beware."
superb teamwork!.. Welbeck, Cleverly, Young, Ando, Smalling 
silver racer wrote:was it me or was rooney playing more of an AM role?? I think that suits him bttr, as hernandez got the poacher outlook.
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