MANCHESTER United's owners begin paying 16.25pc interest this week on a loan they took out to refinance their purchase of the 18-times English soccer champions, company filings show.

US billionaire Malcolm Glazer will pay the rate on more than £200m (€243m) of payment-in-kind notes that are due in 2017.

PIK loans are typically used to hold down cash expenses in leveraged buyouts because they carry coupons that accumulate and are paid on maturity or when the debt is redeemed.

"PIKs make sense at certain times but given the rate that interest accumulates, they quickly wipe out equity," said Jonathan Moore, an analyst at Evolution Securities in London.

He added: "You'd expect owners to take them out as soon as they're able to."

Yes, but probably at an absurd asking price, given the level of debt the club has - just take a look at what's happening at Liverpool. Has to be said that the impact of foreign (particularly American) ownership on English clubs has been nothing short of disastrous and some kind of governing-body intervention is long overdue - I just don't see it happening anytime soon, sadly.

Pete

MU will end up in administration ...

I watched a documentary about the Glazers. Now I'm not saying it was all true because the TV said so but even it was a half truth it's worrying.