Manchester United this week appointed Roger Bell as the club’s Chief Financial Officer, replacing Cliff Baty.
Like Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc – the latter replacing Patrick Stewart as CEO until Omar Berrada starts work on July 13 – Bell is very much an Ineos man.
The highly-experienced Bell has been working alongside Sir Jim Ratcliffe for over two decades now. And his vast knowledge of the financial side of the game will likely prove invaluable at a club who, despite all their struggles in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, are still football’s fifth-biggest money makers according to Deloitte.
Bell, who has a Masters degree in Finance and Accounting from Leeds Beckett University, has also spoken about the Glazer ownership of Manchester United a number of times since 2021.
And, in an interview with The Athletic, he was keen to point out that debt – like the debt Man United accrued during years of Glazer control – is not necessarily a bad thing. At least, not when you are using it to finance something, such as a new stadium.
But when it is just sitting there, holding back the club’s progress on and off the pitch, that is where the issues begin, as Red Devils supporters know only too well.
Manchester United hire Roger Bell as CFO
“Is debt a good or bad thing? Well, it depends what you’re using it for,” Bell would explain two years ago.
“If you are using it to finance something that’s economically useful, (then) go for it. Knock yourself out. You’re creating value. But if you’re using it just to shore something up, you’re destroying value.”
“Since 2015 (and until as of 2022), Manchester United’s debt is up by £181million, which doesn’t sound great. And you can see what the market thinks of the decisions the club’s directors are making from the share price.”
Bell was speaking at a time in which the club’s share price had gone down from 14 dollars to 11.55. And you don’t need a PHD in economics to know that is not good news.
“The market is looking at Manchester United and saying; ‘We’re not that keen, thanks. We can see a team that needs a complete rebuild and a stadium that’s falling down’. But the takeover debt isn’t the issue. That’s ancient history. The share price is the problem.”
Flash forward to May 1st 2024, with optimism renewed at United by Ratcliffe’s takeover and his ambitious, ruthless gutting of the Glazer regime, the club’s share price now stands at 16.11, reflecting the market’s new-found positivity surrounding a club determined to ascend to the summit once again (Market Watch).
Interestingly, Bell referred to the crumbling state of Old Trafford back in 2022 as a reason why United’s share price may have dropped.
The issues surrounding this iconic but rusting arena is another problem Ratcliffe is keen to solve, either via a substantial investment into the current stadium or by the construction of a modern, world-leading replacement.
Old Trafford future being debated
“Manchester United are arguably the greatest club in the world,” Ratcliffe recently told the Geraint Thomas Cycling Clubpodcast, Old Trafford looking a little ‘tired’ in an era where Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Man City and even Tottenham are plying their trade in space-age surroundings.
“It needs to have a stadium that is befitting the club and the brand. That might have been the case 20 years ago, but it isn’t today. (Old Trafford) is a little bit tired.
“We can refurbish the ground and have a fantastic stadium, that will take about a billion to do that, and the club can shoulder that burden. But we have got this opportunity to build a new ground if we choose to. We’ve got enough space to build a completely new ground.
“If we build a completely new ground, it would be state of the art, world-class, (with a capacity of) 90,000 or even 100,000.”
According to the Daily Mail last week, Man United have ‘stepped up work’ on those stadium plans, having created a ‘specialist taskforce’ including Lord Sebastian Coe, club legend Gary Neville, and Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester.
