I knew at some point the Glazers would sell Manchester United but the how and when was another story.
In 2005 there was a big issue with Malcolm Glazer taking over. Mainly to do with where the money was coming from along with any future investment. Every single one of those concerns has turned out to be true.
It has cost the club £Billions. The club still has £515m worth of debt mainly from the purchase in 2005. It also has other debts for future payments for players it’s purchased from other clubs and it’s £95m credit facility.
The Glazers bought into a successful team and a well ran club under Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill. They were able to keep pace with top clubs across England and Europe until they left the club in 2013. This is when it starts to go wrong. Ed Woodward and board didn’t really understand what the plan was and he certainly wasn’t a football man.
The other major problem is other English teams around us started to progress on and off the pitch. The Glazers investment model means United have to compete at the top. They need top four and Champions League football. Manchester City have owners who not only invest in the team but the manager, stadium and their brand. They even invest to bring in football people into their board from clubs like Barcelona. Liverpool’s new owners who are also now looking to sell their club also had a plan. They invest completely in the manager, they invest in a new training ground and invest in upgrading Anfield. Daniel Levy at Tottenham goes one step further than just upgrading the stadium. Tottenham invest in one of the most advanced new stadiums in the world. Tottenham have also invested in a new training ground. Chelsea have also invested £Bs but mainly on the team. Arsenal this season have also clicked on the pitch.
The Glazers since 2013 have tried to leave the footballing side to the board and the manager. The board’s plan when they do get involved has been ‘let’s sign X player for £80m-100m to quiet the fans down,’ with the hope this all goes away. There has been no plan and as long the Glazers have got their payment each season they haven’t really cared.
I believe the Glazers are thick skinned people and it takes more than a couple of big protests to get them out. Now in 2022, I believe the failure of the Super League, other clubs success and current economic climate is finally beginning to bite. We don’t know too much about their other businesses but they have in the past sold percentages of the club off on the New York Stock Exchange. They now own around 69% of the total shares in the club with 31% on the open market. The past sales must be to cover other debts and their other financial failures.
The club posted this in a statement last night…
“As part of this process, the Board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the Company.
“The Raine Group is acting as the Company’s exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP is legal counsel to the company.
“Rothschild and Co. is acting as exclusive financial advisor to the Glazer family shareholders.”
Other than being the biggest news since 2005 when they took over. The main bits to take note of are “a sale” “The Raine Group” and “Glazer family shareholders”
As the media have been reporting this points to a full sale of the club. The Raine Group are the same group who sold Chelsea earlier this year and it mentions all the Glazer family along with the words ‘a sale’.
The next news tonight is that Sir Jim Radcliffe is planning his bid and many others will be very interested.
Many of the Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and in the UAE(Abu Dhabi) already have big investments within European football so I’d guess that would be a low probability. It will be the biggest sale of any sports team with the figures being discussed and the end of a 17-year long failed ownership.
