Britain | Referee!

The British government hopes a regulator can save football from folly

The English game’s finances are skewed and fragile

BURY, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28:  Fans gather outside Gigg Lane Stadium the home of Bury Football Club who have been expelled from the English Football League (EFL) on August 28, 2019 in Bury, England. After an historic membership of 125 years the EFL have expelled Bury FC after a buyer for the club was not secured. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Bury not forgottenImage: Getty Images

TO BE ENLIGHTENED—or just bewildered—about the febrile finances of English football, consider a small triangle in the north-west of the country. At one corner is Manchester United, the prize in a battle of billionaires. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, a Qatari banker, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a British chemicals magnate, are vying to buy United from the American Glazer family. Whoever wins may have to stump up £5bn ($6bn).

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Referee!”

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