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Directors of Manchester United are sitting on multi-million pound rewards after they were allowed to accept long-term incentive payments by fellow members of the board.
The Manchester United chief executive David Gill will receive a £1.7m windfall after the firm's remuneration committee - which decides how directors are paid - said that long-term payments could be given. The finance director Nick Humby will receive £906,000 from the same scheme.
This is on top of the cash they will receive from selling shares in the company that they already own. They indicated earlier this week they will sell to Malcolm Glazer, and advised fans to do the same. The payments are in the form of shares, worth £3 each under the terms of Glazer's offer for the football club.
One independent director Jim O'Neill owns a £5m stake under the Glazer offer. Gill stands to receive £512,000 from his shares, while Humby stands to gain £152,000.
This is despite their apparent concerns about the deal, revealed earlier this week. Directors warned of a "downward spiral" when a football club has too much debt, and said that Glazer had not given assurances that he would not interfere in team selection.
Gill and Humby have not yet decided whether to work for the new owner.
The remuneration committee consists of the chairman Sir Roy Gardner, the venture capitalist Philip Yea and the director Ian Much, and it was up to them to decide whether the long-term incentive scheme was triggered by the deal and should be paid out to the directors. Such payments are designed to reward directors for long-term performance.