The Glazers, owners of Manchester United, are looking to sell the club in the near future. The club owners want a new property investment. Whether it will become a full sale or a partial investment remains to be seen.
Sky Sports claims that the Glazer family should soon formally announce their plans to sell the club.
Later that same day, Manchester United formally announced plans for “strategic alternatives to fuel the growth of the club.” Stated explicitly, that includes “new investments in the club, a sale or other transactions involving the Company,” according to Manchester United.
United and the Glazers retained The Raine Group as the club’s exclusive financial adviser.
Glazers ownership tumult leads to potential United sale
The Glazers first invested in United in May 2005. They originally spent around $1.5bn on a 29% stake in the team at the time. Much of this money was borrowed, and the debt was later transferred to the club. Prior to the Glazers’ arrival in Manchester, United were reportedly debt-free. However, the team reportedly took on around £540m in debt following the investment from the Americans.
This debt had grown to £777m in the first two years since the Glazers had been at the club. However, The Guardian has claimed that the team has since reduced its tax liabilities to around £400m by early 2020.
According to the report, investment bankers have been asked to advise the Glazers on the upcoming process. The owners are fully exploring their options for the future.
Although the numbers have yet to be determined, it is widely speculated that a potential sale would break the fee Todd Boehly’s group recently paid for Chelsea. The American businessman and his associates spent about $5.4 billion to buy Blues in May.
Fans have staged sporadic protests in recent years to get the Glazers out of United. These reports that the Americans might finally sell the club should make a lot of Red Devils fans happy.
Glazers target United sale as Ronaldo leaves club
This news comes just hours after United announced that they had agreed to part ways with Cristiano Ronaldo. The superstar striker has made negative headlines several times since August. Ronaldo has previously criticized the club, the manager and the owners.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus player returned to United in the summer of 2021. He was reportedly earning around $466,000 a week with the Red Devils. Now the 37-year-old Portuguese international is free to sign for any other club in the world.
