London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Manchester United owners to explore sale as Glazers seek new investment

Manchester United owners to explore sale as Glazers seek new investment

The Old Trafford club is close to announcing that its American owners are exploring financial options that could include an outright sale.

Manchester United Football Club could finally be sold by its American owners after a 17-year reign dominated by fan protests and declining on-pitch performance.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that the Glazer family is preparing to formally announce its intention to examine potential sources of outside investment that could include a full-blown auction of arguably the world's most famous football club.

Sources said on Tuesday that investment bankers were being instructed by Manchester United's owners to advise on the process, which is likely to include a full or partial sale, or strategic partnership with third parties.

A statement confirming their intentions could come imminently, one of them said.

The announcement of a review of financial options that could include a sale process would signal an end to years of speculation over whether the Glazers might be persuaded to offload a club which for the past decade has experienced an almost-unmitigated footballing decline.

The Old Trafford side has not won the Premier League title since 2013, and has sacked a succession of managers in the aftermath of the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.

More recently, the club has become embroiled in a bitter legal fight with Cristiano Ronaldo, its best-known player, over an interview in which he questioned United's ambition and lambasted the Glazers' approach to owning it.

On Tuesday, United announced that Mr Ronaldo had left "with immediate effect".

It remains possible that the family, which took control of United in 2005 in a £790m deal largely funded by debt, opt not to sell.

A partial sale to new investors, with capital being raised to fund an overdue redevelopment of Old Trafford, is one potential outcome from the process.


Manchester United fans protest ahead of the Liverpool match at Old Trafford in August 2022

The Glazers have acknowledged the need for new infrastructure investment to transform the stadium into a genuinely world-class venue, while substantial funds are also required to enable the men's team to compete once more at the top of the European game.

If United was sold outright, it would be the latest top-flight club to change hands, after Roman Abramovich agreed a £2.5bn sale of Chelsea to a consortium led by the American businessman Todd Boehly earlier this year.

United's valuation in a sale would inevitably exceed the roughly $2.15bn market capitalisation implied by its share price during Tuesday's trading session on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reports in recent months have speculated that any transaction would need to value the club at anywhere between £5bn and £9bn to persuade the owners to sell.

The Glazers listed a minority stake in the company in 2012 but retained overwhelming control through a dual-class share structure which means they hold almost all voting rights.

For more than 18 months, the club has been promising to introduce a modestly sized supporter ownership scheme that would give fans shares with the same structure of voting rights as the Glazers.

The initiative has, however, yet to be launched despite a pledge to have it operational by the start of the 2021-22 season.

It was one of a number of commitments made by Joel Glazer, United's co-chairman, in the wake of the European Super League (ESL) debacle, in which the club played a pivotal role.

Manchester United was one of six Premier League teams to agree to join the project, which collapsed within hours of its official launch amid public and political acrimony.

In May 2021, Red Devils fans forced the postponement of a home match against rivals Liverpool after protesting against the ESL and the Glazer family.

"Love United, Hate Glazers" has become a familiar refrain during their tenure, with supporters critical of a perceived lack of investment in the club's infrastructure while the owners have extracted hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of dividends as a result of its continued commercial success.

If a formal sale process is initiated, attention will turn to the identities of potential buyers.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos billionaire who has supported United since childhood, said in August that he was keen to buy the club but has since suggested that English football's elite names are overvalued.

Billionaires from around the world will be linked to bids, as will sovereign investors seeking to emulate the kinds of takeovers seen at Newcastle United - now owned by Saudi state-backed investors - and Paris St Germain, which is Qatari-owned.

There will also be speculation that the Red Knights, a consortium led by former United director and leading economist Lord O'Neill, could revive an attempt initiated in 2010 to take control of the club.

Significantly, the prospective auction of Manchester United comes as Fenway Sports Group, the owner of Liverpool, also weighs selling all or part of the Anfield club.

Simultaneous sale processes for two of English football's so-called 'big six' - the others being Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur - would be unprecedented.

One analyst said the timing suggested that some investors believed the value of top clubs could be approaching its peak, especially against a backdrop of tough global economic forecasts for the coming years.

United's announcement is also likely to be made during a World Cup fuelled by Gulf petrodollars, underlining the shifting financing of the global football industry.

Manchester United declined to comment on Tuesday.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump's Upcoming Visit to Gulf Nations: Investment and Security at the Forefront
Rodrigo Duterte Awaits Trial at The Hague. Next week he might be elected mayor of his hometown
Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say
Retired British police officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at ICE Facility Amid Congressional Visit
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
×