Amancio Ortega, owner of fashion chain Zara, has emerged as a potential candidate to buy Manchester United.
On Tuesday night, the Glazers revealed in a statement that they were open to sell the club.
The 86-year-old, who has an estimated worth of $61.3billion, as per Forbes, is understood to have informed senior executives of his interest in Manchester United following Tuesday’s announcement.
Ortega has previously invested into real estate in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Chicago, Miami and New York but has yet to venture into the sporting world. Is he tempted now?
According to the Manchester Evening News, Ortega joins a list of potential investors, including Apple and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, after expressing his interest.
Samuel Luckhurst reports: “Ortega owns 59% of Inditex and last year appointed his daughter, Maria Ortega Perez, as the chairwoman of the Zara fashion chain. His Artexio company that operates the eight retail stores generated revenue of €27.7bn in the year to January 31 2022.”
It sounds like the news that the Glazers are interested in selling the club has sent shockwaves to billionaires across the world. Part of me wonders what 86-year-old thinks now is a good time to take on a sporting venture like Manchester United, which requires a lot of work and money. The latter he has a lot of!
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These are early days and we’re likely to see many more billionaires added to the list before a bid is made. The Glazer’s asking price remains unknown with multiple figures doing the rounds, so they are likely to test the waters over the coming months.
Hopefully, a solution is found before next season.
