The Malcolm Glazer takeover

Main article: Malcolm Glazer takeover of Manchester United

On 13 May 2005, American businessman Malcolm Glazer acquired a controlling interest in the club through his investment vehicle Red Football Ltd. in a takeover valuing the club at approximately £800 million (approx. $1.5 billion). On 16 May, he increased his share to the 75% necessary to de-list the club from the Stock Exchange, making it private again, and announced his intention to do so within 20 days. On 8 June he appointed his sons to the Manchester United board as non-executive directors.

In July 2006, the club announced a refinancing package. Previously the debt taken on by the Glazers to financing the club was split between the club and the family, but now it will all be in the club. The total amount will be £660 million, on which interest payments will be £62 million a year. This is a 30% reduction in interest charges.

Club crest and colours

Manchester United badge up to the most recent revision

During its days as Newton Heath, the club's home jerseys were yellow and green; this strip was revived as an away kit in the early 1990s. In 1902, in conjunction with the name change to Manchester United, the club changed their colours to red jerseys, white shorts and black socks, which has become the standard for most Man Utd home kits ever since. The most notable exception to this is the shirt that the team wore in the 1909 FA Cup Final against Bristol City, which was white with a thin red V-neck. This design was resurrected in the 1920s before United reverted back to the all-red shirts.

Away strips are usually white jerseys with black shorts and white socks, but other colours have been used, including a blue and white striped shirt used on-and-off from 1903 to 1916, an all-black kit in 1994 and 2003 and a navy blue shirt with silver horizontal pinstripes in 2000. One of the most famous, yet short-lived, United away kits, though, was the all grey kit from 1996. This kit was dropped after Manchester United failed to win a single game while wearing it. At half-time during a game against Southampton, when United were already 3-0 down, they switched to their blue and white third kit, but eventually lost 3-1. According to the players, the grey kit wasn't visible enough which led to the poor results.^[14][15] Another famous Man Utd away kit included a reversible shirt that was white with black sleeves and gold trim on one side, and gold with black trim on the other side. This shirt was released as the last kit created by Umbro for the club before the change to Nike, and commemorated 100 years since the club had changed its name from Newton Heath to Manchester United.

The United third kit is traditionally all-blue in homage to the kit that the 1968 European Cup was won in. Exceptions to this rule have included a bright yellow kit worn in the early 1970s, the aforementioned blue and white striped shirt from 1996, which proved to be a firm favourite with the fans, and a white shirt with black and red horizontal pinstripes from 2004. United have also used what were originally training shirts as their third kit in the past, having adopted an all-black kit in the 1998-99 season and a dark blue shirt with maroon sides in 2001 for games against Southampton and PSV Eindhoven.

Currently, Manchester United's jerseys are red with gold stripes going down the side. The sleeves are capped with white and the AIG and Nike logos are also white. The letters MUFC are embroidered in gold at the bottom of the shirt. The club crest sits on a white shield. The away jerseys are white with black panels down the side. The crest sits on a black shield. The sleeves and collar are capped in gold and the AIG and Nike logos, and MUFC embroidery are black. The third shirt is blue with red across the shoulders. The sleeves are capped with red. The Nike logo is white and sits high up on the right shoulder, while the AIG logo is also white and sits on a red background. The club crest is placed in the centre of the shirt.

The Manchester United crest has been altered on a few occasions, but the basic form remains similar. The badge is derived from the crest of the city of Manchester. The devil on the club badge stems from the club's nickname "The Red Devils", which was adopted in the early 60s after Sir Matt Busby heard it in reference to the red-shirted Salford rugby league side. By the end of the 1960s, the devil had started to be included on club programmes and scarves, before it was finally incorporated into the club badge in 1970, holding its unmistakable trident. In 1998, the badge was once again redesigned, this time removing the words "Football Club".^[16