By the reaction of the fans massed outside Old Trafford, the hallowed ground of Manchester United, it was as if the football team had been relegated from the English premiership.
But it was more serious than that - the club had fallen into American hands.
In a deal worth 790 million ($2.05 billion), Florida tycoon Malcolm Glazer, 76, collected the world's richest and most famous soccer club, adding it to the other sports team he owns, American football side the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Outside Old Trafford, beneath the gaze of mounted police, mobs brandishing signs such as "You buy, you die" burned season ticket renewals and effigies of Glazer.
Manchester had cheered when Glazer was thwarted last year in a bid to seize control of the Red Devils.
But this time he became the majority shareholder after buying out the two Irish horse-racing tycoons whom fans believed would never sell.
"They said they were long-term investors but they have taken the 30 pieces of silver offered by Malcolm Glazer," said Oliver Houston, of campaigning group Shareholders United.
With his stake now about 70 per cent, it is thought inevitable that Glazer will soon have complete control. What he will do then has supporters quaking.
Glazer pulled off the bid by raising more than 500 million in loans. Many fear he will have to raise merchandise and ticket prices.
There are implications for the wider game, too. Glazer sees television income as a potential growth area, but only if United can sell the rights themselves, instead of collectively. If he achieves this, the landscape of English soccer will change fundamentally.
- INDEPENDENT
Manchester United fans warn US tycoon ‘you buy, you die'
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