Manchester United owner Avram Glazer has reportedly held talks with prospective buyers for the club while in Qatar for the World Cup.
The Glazer family announced last month that they were seeking a sale of the club they have owned since 2005. The American billionaires have hired the Raine Group to act as United’s exclusive financial advisor and try to find interested parties.
Glazer is in Doha ostensibly to watch the World Cup, but he has also used the opportunity to meet with potential investors, according to The Athletic. It is not known who Glazer has spoken to since being in the Middle Eastern country and United and Raine Group refused to comment.
He was present at France’s 2-0 semi-final win over Morocco, where he gave some brief comments about United. “It’s not necessarily a sale, it’s a process and we’re going forward with the process, so we’ll see what happens,” he told The Athletic. “That’s the update, it’s the process and the process is proceeding.”
United have previously held discussions with Saudi Arabia regarding investment in the club, as well as talks with Dubai-based investment funds. The statement in November said they were beginning a “process to explore strategic alternatives for the club”, which could mean “new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions”.
Raine Group is aiming to complete the sale by the end of the first quarter of 2023. They are hoping to sell for a price of between £6bn and £7bn, having moved down the initial asking price.
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The Glazers followed Fenway Sports Group’s decision to seek a sale of Liverpool after fellow Premier League side Chelsea were sold for £2.5bn to a consortium fronted by Todd Boehly in May.
The Glazers have presided over a 17-year reign of United since completing a leveraged buyout of the club for £790m in May 2005. United fans have continually protested against their ownership, with their use of loans which has loaded the club with debt worth around £500m and cost over £1bn to service proving hugely unpopular.
The family also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl in 2020, while Avram Glazer also bought a cricket franchise in the United Arab Emirates’ T20 cricket league.
United manager Erik ten Hag is hoping the sale goes through quickly. "There will be more investment possible which is good," he said recently after speaking with chief executive Richard Arnold.
"We spoke about the culture we want, we spoke about objectives, goals and the culture and he confirmed it won't change. It will be even better because more money will become available for this project."
