#news Just where did you find £220m? Glazers leave United fans in the dark over debt

By Ian Ladyman Last updated at 11:37 PM on 16th November 2010

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Manchester United chief executive David Gill launched another passionate defence of the Glazer family on the day the club's owners refused to tell supporters how they plan to pay off a £220million loan next Monday.

United released their quarterly accounts on Tuesday and stunned fans and financial experts by revealing that the Glazers plan to settle their controversial Payment in Kind loans next week without using cash from the club's own reserves.

New plans: The Glazer family will pay off £220m of their high-interest PIK loans

The development is good news for United, given that the PIK loans were running with an annual interest rate of 16 per cent and would have passed the £600m mark had they been allowed to run to their expiry date of 2017.

However, the Glazers' refusal to elaborate on where they are getting the money from irritated their critics yesterday, as will the endorsement given by Gill in an interview in America.

Asked about the Florida-based family - who bought the club in 2005 - Gill said: 'They've delivered. They've put their money where their mouth is in terms of investing in staff, investing in marketing, investing in research and the team we have now on that side of the business is doing a very, very good job in what is a difficult economic environment.'

Gill spoke to American radio station SIRIUS XM yesterday and revealed that manager Sir Alex Ferguson's successor will be a man with experience and a proven track record of success.

Special Two: Mourinho is a possible replacement for Sir Alex

This would appear to point to someone like Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho rather than a current Barclays Premier League boss like Everton's David Moyes.

Nevertheless it was United's complicated finances that dominated the agenda again. With the Glazers about to settle the one debt that has hung heaviest over the club since takeover day, they may have expected fans to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, there was only further criticism as they chose not to reveal details of what they have done. Experts speculated that the family have either sold assets in America - thought to be unlikely - or arranged new refinancing with a different lender.

None of this was clear in yesterday's accounts, and investors who bought bonds in last January's £500m bond issue were advised they were not to ask questions about it on conference calls with United officials.

A statement from the pressure group Manchester United Supporters' Trust urged the Glazers to come clean.

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