In November 2022, Manchester United’s owners the Glazer family announced they were considering selling the club as part of "exploring strategic alternatives". Given the group’s almost unanimous unpopularity with the club’s fanbase the news was greeted… let’s say warmly.
However, while nobody expected a speedy conclusion to the sale of one of football’s biggest and therefore most expensive clubs, almost nine months on from that the Glazers remain in charge. Despite plenty of claims, and counter-claims, no deal has been agreed and Manchester United approach the new season under an enormous cloud of uncertainty.
With each passing week comes another claim that a breakthrough is on the horizon for this deal, and with each passing week fans are left frustrated at the lack of anything of the sort.
Right now, on the table, right now, are two competing bids.
The Ratcliffe bid
The first is led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe is a British billionaire, engineer and chairman of chemical giants INEOS, reported to be the second richest man in the UK. His net worth, at last estimate, is almost £30 billion.
As a person, he’s a figure that appeals strongly to many Manchester United fans – but his bid includes an option for two of the Glazers to remain at Old Trafford.
Avram and Joel Glazer could be poised to stay on as minority stakeholders if this bid is accepted, which would see them continue to invest in the club without the power to make key decisions. Not a concept that’s proving universally popular, but possibly a necessity given the way this deal is being financed.
The Sheikh Jassim bid
On the other side of the issue. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, who has been leading a Qatari consortium throughout the entire takeover process, wants to purchase a 100% stake in Manchester United and its assets.
Entirely funded by the Sheikh’s Nine Two Foundation, this sale would allegedly leave the club debt free, and allow them "look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports".
This would bring to an end the near 20 years of Glazer ownership, dating back to their own takeover in 2005. This would also wipe the club’s debts, estimated to be around the £490 million mark.
The idea here being that Manchester United cease to be a ‘work in progress’ overnight, and can immediately start competing again with the biggest teams in Europe.
Fans, understandably, are divided. While both Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim claim to be lifelong fans of the club – the latter actually educated at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, just outside of London – the pros and cons of each are tricky to separate.
After years of deriding rivals Manchester City over their state-sponsored ownership model, the idea of becoming the plaything of oil state themselves leaves a bitter taste. However there’s a reality over what it takes to compete at the very top level now, and if that’s the only way they can fully remove the Glazers then so be it. ‘
Meanwhile, while Ratcliffe might personally represent a more palatable owner, there are question marks over how his deal would be financed and what spending power it would actually give them.
That, combined with the idea of the Glazers remaining involved in some capacity, makes it a complete non-starter for sections of the support. ‘Full Sale Only’ banners spotted in Manchester United away ends towards the end of last season.
The issue of the preferred bidder – be that between the fans or the board – is only able to rumble on though, because of a lack of any substantial developments.
What's the problem?
So what’s the hold up? Well, and this won’t surprise Manchester United fans, the problem is the Glazers.
The breakdown of their ownership means that while Avram and Joel work operate as co-chairmen and oversee the majority of the club’s business, Kevin Glazer, Darcie Glazer, Edward Glazer, and Bryan Glazer all retain between 10-20% of the voting power, and a consensus is needed between them for any decision to be reached.
Reports behind the scenes have always indicated that Joel, who retains the largest stake at nearly 20%, is determined to remain in charge with a new financial backer. Avram, his brother, is willing to stay on in a similar capacity, but is also open to a full sale. Between them, they lack to ability the buy out their other four siblings and simply make the decision themselves, and all of those are believed to only want to sell their remaining shares if it enables them to get out completely.
Not to oversimply this, but if you’ve ever tried to resolve a major issue between 6 blood relations, and siblings at that, it’s a wonder it’s likely to be resolved at all. It’s also worth keeping in mind that all of these people are billionaire businessmen and women because they born into that position, not because they were necessarily ever any good at it.
Even the wording of the proposed sale back in November was designed to leave room for interpretation. "Exploring strategic alternatives" certainly invites bids for the club, but it doesn’t commit you to actually selling it.
They had hoped, it’s reported, that they’d currently be considering a wealth of credible offers, and thus able to negotiate a number of bidders into buying only the shares from certain family members, leaving others to remain in place. In a competitive field, there was confidence that someone would bite at that offer, but with just the Ratcliffe and Qatari options available neither side is willing to acquiesce to this.
Thus, the last few months have seen multiple rounds of bidding between the two groups, to try and extract the highest possible price point for the club. That’s currently estimated to be approaching £5 billion, and over the last few weeks both groups have believed – and briefed the press – that they were edging ahead of the other.
But, likewise, for all the presumptive, unverified, and ultimately denied reports that a deal with one party or the other is imminent, there’s been an equal amount of column inches dedicated to the questions of “do the Glazers even want to sell?”. The Times even went so far as to report that both bidders fully expected neither side to have an offer accepted, and were both prepared to walk away were certain deadlines not met.
So if you’ve read that 'The Glazers want to sell Man United' then, it’s true, they do. But if you’ve read the 'The Glazers actually don’t want to sell Man United' then, that’s true as well. It’s just that “The Glazers” as a concept represents the interest of six conflicting individuals, which are changing with every passing week.
The bottom line is – and it’s one that grows more absurd each week as they edge closer and closer to both a Premier League and Champions League season they’re seemingly underprepared for – there hasn’t been a resolution to this sale because, as a group, the Glazers can’t decide how they want they want that resolution to be.
Until they do, the Red Devils will remain in purgatory.
