The Glazers saw Manchester United's share price fall by 9.5 per cent on Thursday amid speculation that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in pole position to acquire the club.
The American family, led by Avram and Joel, have been in charge at Old Trafford since a leveraged buyout was completed back in 2005. It was confirmed back in November that the club was on the market, however, the takeover process has been a taxing one.
After three separate rounds of bidding, it is still unclear whether the Glazers will sell up completely or part with a smaller stake of the club. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Ratcliffe have been deemed as the two most likely candidates to succeed throughout the entire process.
It now appears that the latter is in a commanding position and is set to be confirmed as the Glazers' preferred bidder - but that hasn't prevented a damaging day on the New York Stock Exchange for the club. United's share price dropped from $20.30 to $18.37: a total decrease of 19.29 per cent since January 1 (as of Friday morning).
The Sun outlined on Wednesday evening that Ratcliffe had moved ahead of Sheikh Jassim in the takeover process. The Ineos chief has submitted a proposal which would give him majority control but also allow Avram and Joel to retain a small stake of the club. Sheikh Jassim was bidding for 100 per cent control.
The report also claims that chief executive Richard Arnold, who has won plenty of plaudits since succeeding the maligned Ed Woodward last season, could exit the club if Ratcliffe's proposal is successful.
Join the debate! Who would you like to see take over at Man Utd: Ratcliffe or Sheikh Jassim? Let us know here.
After months of speculation and bids, it is now believed that all parties will be informed of the Glazers' decision in the coming days - which should come as a welcome boost to Erik ten Hag, who is eager to press ahead with his preparations for the 2023/24 campaign.
The Dutchman is keen on making further changes to the squad he inherited back in the summer, with an elite No.9 at the top of his shopping list. However, the uncertainty over the future of the club is believed to have seriously hampered his ability to line up targets, with Ten Hag admitting last week that he is still in the dark over how much he'll even have to spend in the transfer window.
“No, I don’t have influence on that, I don’t have and also I don’t know [the transfer budget],” the Manchester United chief told reporters.
“The only thing I know is that Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, one of the biggest two or three from a fanbase perspective. The club has to compete for the highest in the world - the Champions League and Premier League.
“But in football you need funds to construct squads because, at end of the day, the level of your players decides if you are successful or not. Everyone knows you need funds to construct a squad and high level players cost a lot of money. That’s the situation nowadays in top football.
“I think it’s clear what I want, but it’s not up to me. It’s about others in this club. The family are the owners, they make the decisions, it’s not up to me. I do everything I can and I influence the processes that I’m in charge of.”
