Daunting numbers behind current Manchester United owners Glazers' 17 years reign at Old Trafford

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Old Trafford, Feb 23: The purchase of Manchester United by the Glazer family has been deeply undesirable from the start, with the Florida-based family’s 17-year reign marred by fan protests.

Leveraged buyout in which a sizable quantity of borrowed money is used to finance the acquisition of a firm, with the loan secured against that company utilised to acquire them for £790 million in the summer of 2005.

Fans were incensed by the purchase right then and blasted the club's new owners for piling up so much debt on the team, which was at the time quite lucrative. The debt, the interest paid on it, and the dividends given to stockholders along the way only served to stir up controversy over time.

With a new potential takeover expected to befall ahead the next summer with the likes of Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani, the UK's richest man Jim Ratcliffe, etc. in contention to buy, here we have taken a look at a couple of daunting numbers which could provide an insight of how the club have been in disarray over the last 17 years.

# The Glazers' ownership may have been most advantageous to lenders because they received £917 million in interest payments on loans with interest rates as high as 14.25 per cent. Throughout that time, shareholders have made £157 million.

# United's transfer activity over the years should also be under the scanner with the Old Trafford side spending more than £2 billion on players under the Glazers, but only around a fourth of that has been recouped through sales.

# Glazers' lack of investment in the playing and training ground has also been criticized by fans and pundits. Since 2010 the Glazers have apparently spent just around £98 million, ranking eighth in the Premier League in terms of infrastructure investment.

# Manchester United's brand has risen rapidly while being owned by the Glazers although. United have reportedly produced a staggering £7.5 billion in ticket sales and other forms of revenue under Glzers. Despite this, over the years United lost £354 million total during the Glazers' tenure, mostly due to the Glazers taking dividends from the club and lack of proper acumen in the footballing finances.

# Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, United are yet to win a Premier League or Champions League. With almost a decade without any top-most recognition, United's on-field and off-field misery has genuinely been intimidating.