Manchester United's owners have amassed debts of over 1.1 billion pounds and will have to take millions of pounds out of the club every year to pay off their loans, according to a BBC investigation. In a program to be screened Tuesday, BBC's Panorama shows that the Glazer family have 700 million pounds of debt tied to Manchester United. They have also built up 388 million pounds of debt on mortgages for their First Allied shopping mall business in the United States and have 66 million pounds tied to their Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL franchise. The Glazers say they are comfortable with the situation and that their assets total two billion pounds. But investment analyst Andy Green, who investigated the Glazers' finances for Panorama, believes the Glazers have no option but to raid United's coffers to pay off the payment in kind loans - PIKs - which total 220 million pounds. These PIKS carry a 16.25 percent interest rate and unless any payments are made these loans will spiral to 600 million pounds by 2017. Green said the 500 million pounds United bond issue in January now allowed the Glazers to take money out of the club where as previous bank loans had not allowed them to do so. The investigation will give impetus to the ‘green and gold' campaign being run by some United fans against the Glazers' ownership. There is also a proposed takeover by a group of wealthy United fans known as the Red Knights, though no bid has materialized and the Glazers insist they have no intention of selling the club. In March, United chief executive David Gill insisted the club's debts were easily covered by the income. Bayern-Real friendly Bayern Munich will face Real Madrid in a preseason friendly on Aug. 13 honoring Franz Beckenbauer after he stepped down as the German club's president. Bayern Munich said Monday that ticket sales for the match at its Allianz Arena will begin Tuesday. The game will offer Louis van Gaal's team a rematch against Jose Mourinho, the incoming Madrid coach, whose Inter Milan side beat Bayern in the Champions League final. Uli Hoeness replaced Beckenbauer as president of the Bavarian club last season. Beckenbauer has become the honorary president of Germany's most consistently successful club. – Agenciesb.
