Transparency no longer way forward for United
Posted in News on Tuesday January 24th, 2006 10:26am
Ashling O’Connor in The Times:
MANCHESTER United hinted yesterday that they may no longer publish the fees they pay agents while their Premiership rivals remain steadfastly silent on the sums handed to the player-transfer middlemen. Revealing that United paid £2.2 million to agents last season, David Gill, the chief executive, said that their position as the only top-flight club with such transparency was “untenable” in the long term.
United took the decision to publish agents’ fees only after pressure from John Magnier and J. P. McManus, who were the club’s majority shareholders before the takeover by Malcolm Glazer.
Since then, Gill has described the policy as “the right course of action” to set a standard for the football industry. But, as United again bear the brunt of criticism because they are the only ones putting their heads above the parapet, he may be wondering why the club should be made answerable for the game’s wider ills.
“We do not believe it is helpful that Manchester United remains the only FA Premier League club to publish such figures,” he said in the club’s annual report. “We will keep this issue under review, but the failure of others to publish comparable statistics will once again leave United to be criticised over this matter on behalf of the whole game.”
Gill called on the FA Premier League to follow the Football League’s move to make the disclosure mandatory. “I am sure there will be certain clubs who are opposed to the release of these figures and won’t do it,” he said. “I do not know whether we pay the same, more or less than other clubs but I do know we have nothing to hide about the sums involved.
“There is so much talk about agents. A lot of myths and scare stories have grown around them. If people showed what they were paid, some of the fears supporters have could be allayed.”
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