Horse trading

Rift between Ferguson, Irish billionaires could rip Man Utd apart

By Gavin Hamilton, World Soccer Magazine

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The dispute between Alex Ferguson and Irish billionaires John Magnier and JP McManus over Rock of Gibraltar's breeding rights is so much more than a row over a racehorse.

The argument goes to the heart of football in the 21st Century. The game's great fault line -- between sporting ambition on the one hand and corporate greed on the other -- has been ruthlessly exposed by the behavior of Magnier and McManus, the so-called Coolmore Mafia.

First, some background:

Rock of Gibraltar is the record-breaking racehorse who is half "owned" by Ferguson and who has now been retired to stud. It is the potential breeding fees of up to £200million from Rock of Gibraltar's new life that have caused an almighty row that may only be settled in the Irish high court.

Ferguson, by issuing a writ against Magnier for his half-share in the horse, has picked a fight with the most powerful and feared partnership in horseracing.

Magnier and his business partner McManus command respect throughout the racing world. Just like Ferguson in football, they are used to getting their own way. And when the Coolmore Mafia get mad, they get even.

Magnier and McManus, through their company Cubic Expression, are also Manchester United's single biggest shareholder, owning at the last count 25.48 percent of United PLC.

Last month, they started to flex their corporate muscles. They demanded that the offer of a new four-year contract to Ferguson be dropped. They presented the United board with 99 questions about a series of recent transfer deals.

They were also reported to have hired Knoll Associates, private detectives, to dig up dirt on Ferguson, and in particular, his son Jason's activities as an agent. Jason has said he may now quit football; Ferguson senior said it was all very "distressing."

Initially, Ferguson and horseracing seemed perfect partners. Magnier and McManus got a new celebrity buddy; Ferguson got a new hobby; and horseracing got a new high-profile endorser. Magnier and McManus bought up six percent of United shares and it seemed a distinct possibility that they could launch a takeover of United and install Ferguson as PLC chairman.

Now, it seems, Magnier and McManus could indeed launch a takeover of the club -- with the expressed intention of getting rid of Ferguson as manager.

Across football, there is a lot of animosity towards Ferguson and United, most recently when they believed themselves to above the law in the Rio Ferdinand affair. Indeed, it is Ferguson's intense pride that has landed United in hot water in this affair.

But it would be wholly wrong to assume that Magnier and McManus can claim any support for their actions. They are, in fact, corporate hustlers of the worst kind, eager for profit and motivated by a bitter personal dispute.

Ferguson may well have met his match in Magnier and McManus, but the Irish billionaires would be wise not to underestimate United's fans. Shareholders United demonstrated during Rupert Murdoch's aborted takeover of United in 2001 that a well-organized fan group can take on even the biggest corporate giants. As powerful as the Coolmore Mafia may be in the horseracing world, they are bit players compared to a media baron like Murdoch.

Magnier and McManus may well be capable of persuading enough shareholders to enable a majority takeover of United PLC. But if they were to gain their revenge on Ferguson by forcing the United manager out of Old Trafford, the backlash from United's worldwide fan base could prove their undoing.