The long, drawn-out saga around the takeover of Manchester United appears to be finally reaching a conclusion.
The Glazer family, owners of the Red Devils since 2005 when they acquired the club through a highly controversial leveraged buyout deal, put the club up for sale just a matter of days after it was initially reported that Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group were considering their future at Anfield, a move that ended up focusing on the search for a minority partner in the Reds.
United’s sale process has long featured two prominent names in British billionaire and founder of global chemical giant INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
The search for a new owner, which has been spearheaded by the Raine Group, the firm that were tasked with sorting the expedited sale of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital last year, has seen bids reportedly reach the £6bn mark, with Sheikh Jassim submitting what has been described as a final ‘take it or leave it’ offer last week.
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Sheikh Jassim’s bid is understood to be for 100 per cent of the Old Trafford club with a further commitment for investment into infrastructure and addressing the need for either stadium redevelopment or a completely new arena for the club moving forward, with their current home having been left behind by their rivals in recent seasons. Ratcliffe’s is reportedly for 60 per cent of the club with the Glazers retaining a shareholding. That is a deal that would appeal to the current owners given that the valuations of football teams are expected to rise and they could make more in the longer term.
On Tuesday it was reported via Qatari media that a deal between the Glazers and Sheikh Jassim, a member of the Qatari Royal Family, was close, although those reports were branded ‘pure speculation’ by the QIB chairman’s camp. But regardless of who takes control, there will be new money flowing into Manchester United, although it is the bid from Qatar which many United fans believe to offer the best chance of the club ending their decade-long wait for a Premier League title and returning to former glories.
United boss Erik ten Hag will be in limbo at present, not knowing quite what kind of transfer budget he has at his disposal. United, even though the Glazers have been deeply unpopular, have not had too many brakes put on transfer spending during their reign, although the lack of strategy has put paid to any hopes of returning to the summit during that period. But with a Sheikh Jassim victory likely to see some lavish spending, albeit spending that would have to fall in line with UEFA’s new financial sustainability regulations related to squad investment costs, names such as Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have been mooted as potential additions for a club where any new owners will want to make a mark quickly.
When it comes to his worth, personally Sheikh Jassim doesn't have a reported value but his father does. According to Forbes this is $1.2 billion (£892m). That, for an owner of one of the biggest clubs in the world, is a relatively middling tally. However, the family are said to have a collective worth of £275 billion.
The other bidder in the race, Ratcliffe, is second in the British rich list and 77th worldwide, with a fortune of $20.8bn achieved through his stewardship of INEOS and other investments. In terms of an individual with a personal fortune, he would be the wealthiest among the so-called ‘big six’ should his bid to purchase the club be successful.
In comparison to FSG’s ownership of Liverpool, John W Henry’s own personal wealth stands at $4bn according to Forbes’ money list, with Reds chairman and FSG co-founder Tom Werner worth $1.7bn. FSG as an enterprise is now the fourth most valuable in world sport, again according to Forbes’ 2023 list, with the investments in the Reds, the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins and other assets worth $10.4bn.
Stan Kroenke and his Sports and Entertainment empire are the second largest sporting group. The American businessman is worth £11.8 billion ($14.9bn) with stakes in LA Rams, newly crowned NBA champions Denver Nuggets as well as a host of other sporting franchises.
Elsewhere, Chelsea’s new owners Boely, Clearlake Capital and Hansjoerg Wyss have considerable financial clout. Boehly, per Forbes, is worth $5.4bn, Wyss $4.9bn, while Clearlake have assets of $72bn under management, with Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali, who has been heavily involved at Stamford Bridge, having a personal fortune estimated at $4.3bn.
Manchester City’s takeover in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour and his City Football Group altered the landscape of English football, albeit at a time when heavy spend to accelerate plans was allowed through less controls on financial fair play, something that came in some three years after they acquired the Citizens. Sheikh Mansour has a personal fortune of around £17bn, although he also serves as CEO of Mubadala Investment Company, the £297bn sovereign wealth fund of the Emirates.
In late 2021, Newcastle United became the Premier League club with the wealthiest backers when they were acquired by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi sovereign wealth fund with more than $500bn in assets under management, with fellow investors such as Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers having wealth into the billions, combined.
A changing of the guard at Old Trafford will almost certainly see further loosening of the purse strings in a bid to bring eyeballs to the club and to set down a marker. But it is a club that has significant infrastructure spend to outlay, although that is something that won’t be taken into account when it comes to financial sustainability regulations, with such investment exempt. But there will still be a need to spend within the limits, and with some of the tricks of the trade that Chelsea employed to go on a signing spree now banned by UEFA, specifically the offering of deals of seven, eight and nine years to keep amortisation costs low, there will still need to be considerations around just how much of a splash can be made. A return to Champions League football next season will be helpful, though.
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