Syphoning money out over the years is what they have been doing, hence my use of "cash cow."
They were never it it for a quick turnover or they'd have done it long before now.
That doesn't really stack-up though....it's quite complex but I don't believe the Glazers have actually made that much from United (yet) have they?
I know people bang-on about the dividends and I don't have the exact figures to-hand (Google suggests about £80m) but I am sure they haven't actually taken much, especially when you consider what they could have made investing elsewhere. Not a great return is it that...£80m over 17 years between 6 major shareholders.
Likewise, £1.5BN has been drained out of the club, however, that's been paid to the financial institutions which lent them the money, it hasn't gone into their pockets.
Basically, I am sure they have made some money but when you consider their wealth and what else they could have bought/invested in...seems a poor return.
I think the plan was always to continue to grow the brand/business, have a (somewhat) successful team on the pitch and the perfect 'instagrammable' product off the pitch.
The problem is, growth has stalled, new avenues for revenue generation seem to have dried-up, fan/sponsor confidence is at rock-bottom and none of them have a clue how to run a football club. As it turns out, the clubs performance on the pitch
does have a material impact on their ability to generate revenue/profit!
At this point, with the recent knock-back of the ESL proposal, I think the Glazers have realised that the club requires major investment to make it profitable again...and they don't have the cash, the appetite to do it or the expertise. A sale is now the best option for them to see a return...and it would be a very handsome return, given they never actually used a penny of their own money to buy the club!