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Man Utd shares dive as CEO quits
LONDON, England -- Shares in Manchester United dived after chief executive Peter Kenyon quit his job to move to English rival Chelsea. The football clubs stock fell 6.2 percent, or 10 pence, to 168.25 pence in early London trading on Tuesday. The appointment of Kenyon, who is being replaced at United by David Gill, represents a real boardroom coup for big-spending Chelsea's new Russian billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich. Chelsea spent more than £110 million ($174.4 million) on 13 prominent players since Abramovich bought the team on July 1. Kenyon, 49, took over as United's chief executive from Martin Edwards in August 2000 after joining the club in 1997 from sportswear manufacturer Umbro International. (Profile) "He has enjoyed his time at the club enormously," Kenyon's solicitors said in a statement. "However, the new opportunity that has arisen at Chelsea represents a challenge that Mr. Kenyon feels is right to take at this stage of his career," the statement added. United -- a publicly listed company, trading on the London Stock Exchange -- acknowledged Kenyon's contribution to the club and said he would go on leave in accordance with the terms of his contract. "We would like to thank Peter for his significant contribution to the success of Manchester United on and off the pitch in the last six years,'' United chairman Roy Gardner said in a statement. "David (Gill), as managing director, has also played a major role in that success, and we are delighted that his appointment will bring both experience and continuity to this position.'' Gill, 46, joined United in 1997 as finance director. He succeeded Kenyon as deputy chief executive in August 2000 and was promoted to group managing director a year later. He said Kenyon's sudden departure took him by surprise. "It was a bolt out of the blue for everyone, but that's life and we just move on,'' Gill told MUTV. "I've worked with Alex (Ferguson) for 6-1/2 years on all the big deals and I believe, and fervently hope, that I can develop the same close relationship with him that Peter had and I don't see any reason why that shouldn't be the case.'' Kenyon also had a strong relationship with Ferguson, signing several world-class players including Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and England defender Rio Ferdinand for a combined fee of about £80 million over the past two years. He defended United's decision to sell star David Beckham to Real Madrid this summer, saying the England captain wanted to leave.
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