The World's Biggest Cash Machine: Manchester United, the Glazers, and the Struggle for Football's Soul

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'Jaw-dropping' - Daily Mail 'A gripping tale, full of insight. Blackhurst is an enormously talented writer' - City A.M. Manchester United is more than just a football team; it's an institution. But, when the Glazer family took charge in 2005, they immediately plunged it into record levels of debt. Their reign has coincided with fan protests and a decline in Manchester United's fortunes on the pitch . . . if not on the balance sheet. In The World's Biggest Cash Machine, award-winning reporter Chris Blackhurst charts the history of Manchester United, from its start as a community-driven club to the sale of a minority stake to British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. In this captivating account, informed by interviews with key figures behind the scenes, Blackhurst charts the gripping story of the world's biggest football club - as well as exploring the wider transformation of the Premier League into a playground for billionaire owners. 'Packed with insights and details that will both amaze and appal you . . . if it doesn't make you angry, you need to check your pulse' - Oliver Bullough, author of Butler to the World, on Too Big to Jail

Reviews

Jaw-dropping revelations . . . The incredible story of [Man United] laid bare in new book * Daily Mail *
Brilliant . . . [a] very insightful account -- Simon Jordan, author of Be Careful What You Wish For
A gripping tale, full of insight. Blackhurst is an enormously talented writer * City A.M. *
[An] illuminating study of the Glazer family's troubled ownership of Manchester United -- Spear's
If you want to understand how Manchester United got into its current total mess, you should read Chris Blackhurst's timely new book on the Glazers -- Michael Crick
Packed with insights and details that will both amaze and appal you. This is the inside story of how the City of London really operates and if it doesn't make you angry, you need to check your pulse -- Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland and Butler to the World, on Too Big to Jail
Blackhursts tale would make an exciting novel. But alarmingly, this is a true story, carefully researched and told with gusto -- Baroness Patience Wheatcroft, former editor of The Sunday Telegraph, on Too Big to Jail
Highly entertaining . . . told with pace, gusto, and a strong sense of moral outrage -- The Critic Magazine, on Too Big to Jail

Author Bio

Chris Blackhurst is an award-winning business writer and commentator. He is former editor of the Independent and for ten years was City editor of the Evening Standard. Before that he worked for The Sunday Times on its Insight investigative team. Throughout his career he has written widely on the business of sport, and his journalism has appeared in many of the world's major publications.