Usmanov turns fire on Arsenal board
Reuters - Thursday 05 July 2012, 13:53
Arsenal shareholder Alisher
Usmanov attacked the club board on Thursday for a lack of
investment and for failing to hold on to captain Robin van
Persie beyond next year because of disagreement over the team's
future.
The open letter from Uzbek-born billionaire Usmanov, who has
a stake of just under 30 percent, makes public his concerns over
the running of the Premier League club, majority owned by
American Stan Kroenke.
"It is down to our manager, and not the shareholders, to
have to deal with the club's tight finances, carry the burden of
repaying the stadium debt by selling his best players and having
to continue to find cheaper replacements," he said.
Manager Arsene Wenger learned on Wednesday that striker Van
Persie, who scored 37 goals last season, would not renew his
contract when it expires next year.
"Yet again we are faced with losing our true marquee player
at the club because we cannot assure him of the future direction
and give confidence that we can win trophies," added Usmanov,
who pointed out that his Red & White Securities group had
invested around 200 million pounds in the club.
Arsenal have not won a trophy since 2005 but their
third-place finish last season was enough to guarantee them a
place in the lucrative European Champions League for the 15th
successive season.
The club confirmed they had received the Usmanov letter and
said they were considering its content.
Arsenal's policy is to be self-funding and the club believe
they are well placed to benefit from new Financial Fair Play
rules designed to ensure leading European clubs clean up their
finances.
Arsenal had a pretax profit of 49.5 million pounds in the
six months to November 2011, figures boosted by the sales of
Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City.
The north London club pay annual interest of around 20
million pounds on debt linked to their move to the 60,000-seater
Emirates Stadium in 2006.
Usmanov said Arsenal had to match clubs such as Chelsea,
Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona financially if they
were to compete with them on the field.
Champions League winners Chelsea and Premier League winners
Manchester City are bankrolled by wealthy owners, while the
Spanish duo are helped by being able to sell their own broadcast
rights.
Usmanov, who does not have a seat on the Arsenal board, said
Red & White Securities had a vision of a debt-free club with
enough money to buy top players.
He said the group would buy more shares from anyone who
wanted to sell them and was committed to a long-term investment.