Giving evidence to the House of Commons select committee inquiry into the governance of football, David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United, admitted that ‘it would be better’ if the club did not have to pay gross interest of £45m a year on net debt of £370m.
However, he denied that it had had a detrimental impact on the performance of the team. ‘It hasn’t hampered investment in players and facilities, and we’ve taken a long-term view on investment that we wouldn’t have if we were still a public company,’ Gill said.
Giving evidence to the House of Commons select committee inquiry into the governance of football, David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United, admitted that ‘it would be better’ if the club did not have to pay gross interest of £45m a year on net debt of £370m.
However, he denied that it had had a detrimental impact on the performance of the team. ‘It hasn’t hampered investment in players and facilities, and we’ve taken a long-term view on investment that we wouldn’t have if we were still a public company,’ Gill said.
He also said that the club’s directors would continue to rebuff the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) because its sole objective was to drive the Glazers from the club. ‘We are not going to engage in a structured dialogue with an organisation like that,’ he said. ‘Unless they change that [objective], I don’t see a reason to sit down and talk with them. They are at war with the owners.’