Two HUGE pieces of news coming from United's camp today.
#1 - Manchester United have announced that Chevrolet, the GM-owned US car company, will be their next official shirt sponsor. The deal is for an "undisclosed amount" but will last for 7 years starting from the 2014/15 season.
*Yes, you read correctly SEVEN years starting 2 years from now. By effectively shackling the club with a fixed income for such a long time, the deal will not allow the club to make more lucratvie contracts down the road. If current rates of growth continue this will substantially weaken their financial position. Why, would they do this you might ask? Well, as an Arsenal supporter I am better placed than many to answer this question. Clubs often agree to sign long-term deals with a company if a good chunk of the money is paid up front. They do this to help deal with an immediate financial burden that it has been newly acquired or accrued from years of deb. They are aware that doing so will not give them the most "bang for their buck" over the long haul but would be the most appropriate thing to do given their current circumstances. This is exactly the same thing that happened when Arsenal signed a long term with Emirates in exchange for them paying for a large chunk of the cost of the stadium. Now, it hasn't been explicitly revealed that Chevrolet will pay a proportion up front but that is the logical inferrence given the large amount of debt and high interest hanging over the club.

Looks like Man United are ready to take the risk. 

#2 - The bigwigs at United have decided to sell around 10% of the clubs share on the NYSE. 

According to SKY, "The Glazer family have issued a notice of
intent to sell just over 10 per cent of Manchester United on the New
York Stock Exchange. An announcement on Monday evening confirmed their intention to raise around $300million (£191m). But many will be alarmed that there appears to have been a significant shift in how the proceeds will be used. It had earlier been suggested that the entire sum would be used to
pay off United's huge debts that currently stand at over £400m. However, the prospectus released to
accompany Monday's announcement indicates that only half of the money
will be used in that way, with the rest going directly to the Glazer
family. If that proves to be the case it will provoke fury among the United
support, who have already seen vast amounts of cash disappear in various
charges following the family's takeover in 2005."

When, United bought the club, it had NO DEBT. In order to purchase the club outright they bought it with loans and loaded the debt onto the club instead of their own personal assets. In fact it is estimated that over 500 million pounds has been funneled out of the club for payment of that debt alone. That's 1/2 billion pounds!

Now, why am I writing about this? Is it just to make United fans sad? No. I am writing this because it is symptomatic of the times. When clubs like Arsenal and Newcastle (I'm no fan of Ashley) run their club in financially responsible and sustainable manner, they are targeted by the media and all the boo boys for being too frugal, having no ambition, living in the past, etc..." Let this be a lesson to all (as if we needed any more). Football clubs, at the end of the day, exist to give joy to fans. When they have to go through amdinistration, liquidation, or close they no longer serve that purpose. Winning is part of competition but when the act of winning threatens future involvement in said competitions, something is wrong. Ask Pompey fans if they rather their club never got promoted to the premiere league and won an FA cup to having their club completely dissolved. I think I know what their answer would be.

This is why I have HUGE respect for the Bundesliga. They have great fans, put on a good show, and the clubs are responsible and have respect for each other's sustainability. The polar opposite is what we see in La Liga. It is said that up to 1/2 dozen of the clubs in the top division are so far in the red (comparable to what their profit) that they are close to entering administration. That's damn near 1/4 of the league! That is why, so far, 12 of the 18 club are actively seeking some parity on TV income. Of course, the people in charge of the decision are int eh pockets of RM & Barca and so there is a real danger that La Liga will be untennable. We've seen similar scenarios in Scotland and look how that turned out. Fans need to put pressure on their boardmembers to take a more responsible look at their books and how they run their clubs. These are YOUR clubs and YOU have a responsibility to make sure it remains healthy and happy.

This is true. But this will only determine how well the club performs in these next 7 years. If they do not perform well, then your prediction of them being placed in a 'financially weakened position' will definitely become a reality.

The Glazer family has scarred the club ever since their arrival. Although SAF has defended them recently,it is obvious that he too is enraged with the owner's progress with the club. Good luck with United anyway.  We'll see how they do in the next 7 years.

Wow another great analysis Footaholic! So what you're saying is basically the Glazers may potentially run United to the ground? Being in debt is literally slavery you know. The next few years will be interesting. But how did United get into so much debt in the first place? Did they borrow a lot or did their investments go sour?

@koldimore yes most of shares the glazers bought was from borrowing 800m to purchase the whole club i think utd will be able to sustain and conqueror there debt. but it all depends on how they do it.

Where did you get this info..?

@Knibis: at this point is anywhere you look. But here are some sources if you wish to read them directly:
BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19057547
SKY - http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/7951816/United-announce-share-sale
ESPN - http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/\_/id/1128422/manchester-united-announce-new-shirt-sponsorship-with-chevrolet?cc=5901
ESPN - http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/\_/id/1128575/manchester-united-fan-group-slams-glazers-share-plan?cc=5901
Manchester United Official Website - http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Club-News/2012/Jul/chevrolet-signs-seven-year-shirt-deal-beginning-in-2014.aspx

And just about any United forum you can find.

OH, I forgot to mention that the stocks will be under the name "MANU". For those who may be less acquainted, the name MANU isn't one used by their fans but those of their rivals. It is considered somewhat insulting (for historical reasons). Actual manchester fans refer to the club as "Manchester United, ManUnited, or just United".
In other words, the financial advisors of the Glazers are so dumb that they refer to their club in a derogatory way.
PS - Chevrolet also signed a sponsorship with Liverpool (not on their shirts). Wonder how that will go down...

Wow, Chevrolet must have offered really great deals then o_O