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Article: Disunited by a horse; Football finance.(Manchester United and a horse)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 31, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Great horse, great club, great manager, great trouble: the Ferguson saga
ROCK OF GIBRALTAR, says an expert in horseflesh, is "the sort of miler that you see in 20 or 30 years." Sir Alex Ferguson, the least expert fan can tell you, is that sort of football manager. Too bad that the manager of Manchester United ever met the owner of the racehorse, John Magnier. For the two, once on good terms, have fallen out, over the horse. And with a fellow-Irishman, J.P. McManus, Mr Magnier also owns 25.5% of Manchester United.
The trouble sprang from an act of generosity: Mr Magnier registered the horse as jointly owned by his own wife and his good friend, racing ...