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British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is still battling with investors from Qatar to purchase Manchester United with the Glazers considering selling the club.
There is also interest from investment firms in the United States over either financing a takeover or buying a minority stake, which could allow the club's ruling family to stay in charge.
Indeed, it is beginning to look more likely that the Glazers' era will not, in fact, be coming to an end. Joel and Avram, the most hands-on of the owning family, are confident of securing the investment they want in order to boost capital and stay in charge at Old Trafford, according to ESPN.
However, The Daily Mail said Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani launched a new, final bid in early June in an effort to convince the Glazers to agree to a full sale.
Back in November 2022, it emerged the Glazer family were willing to end their controversial 18-year ownership of the club, much to the excitement of United fans, many of whom have shown their opposition to the owners for a number of years.
The Americans took control of the Red Devils courtesy of a highly contentious leveraged buyout in 2005.
Debt created by that deal and a subsequent decline in the club's fortunes on the pitch have led to several fan protests in recent years.
But a statement from brothers Avram and Joel Glazer — who are are co-chairmen of the club —revealed their 'strategic alternatives' for United with the Glazers thought to be looking for a price in excess of £5bn.
MORE: Man United takeover: Who are the bidders who want to buy Man Utd from the Glazers?
What the Glazers said about selling Manchester United
"The process is designed to enhance the club's future growth, with the ultimate goal of positioning the club to capitalize on opportunities both on the pitch and commercially," the club statement released on November 23 read.
"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.
"This will include an assessment of several initiatives to strengthen the club, including stadium and infrastructure redevelopment, and expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale, each in the context of enhancing the long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams, and bringing benefits to fans and other stakeholders.
"There can be no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in any transaction involving the company. Manchester United does not intend to make further announcements regarding the review unless and until the board has approved a specific transaction or other course of action requiring a formal announcement."
This doesn't necessarily mean a sale; it could be that the Glazers retain their majority stake in the club and simply look for other investors to join. Indeed, that is beginning to look the more likely scenario.
However, the situation could eventually be forced on the Glazers, with the latest financial results from Old Trafford showing an ongoing pattern of decline.
United's overall debt rose to £535.7m/$662.5m, based on financial figures for the end of 2022, in an increase of £58.6m/$72.4m from the previous year, with club-wide revenues down by 10%.
There were some improvements in commercial revenue, in comparison to the previous 12 months, but the wider picture is a concern.
MORE: How Fulham lost their heads to gift Man United victory in the FA Cup quarterfinals
Why might Manchester United be sold?
Chelsea's recent lucrative sale has no doubt given owners of other Premier League clubs a good idea of how much they might stand to earn by moving on.
Todd Boehly's takeover of the west London side came at a cost of £4.2bn, with £2.5bn accounting for the value of the club and a further £1.7bn pledged for investment.
It is surely no coincidence that, just a matter of months on from that deal being struck, Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group signalled their intention to sell up after 12 years at the helm earlier this month.
Newcastle United also, of course, recently changed hands and came under Saudi Arabian ownership, though their £305m valuation is a huge distance short of the figure Manchester United are attracting.
How much is Manchester United worth?
It was recently reported by The Independent that the Glazers could look to sell all of their shares for around $6 billion (£4.9bn).
That would far outstrip the figure paid for Chelsea, perhaps accurately reflecting Manchester United's status as England's most prestigious football club.
It is also likely to price out a number of potential bidders, including many of those involved in the battle to take over at Chelsea over the summer.
Manchester United's next owners after Glazers
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is from Oldham, a Manchester United supporter and already owns two football clubs in the form of OGC Nice and Lausanne-Sport, as well as Formula 1 team Mercedes, through his company Ineos.
Ratcliffe's strongest competition comes from Qatar, with Sheikh Jassim launching a bid that includes a promise of significant investment in the club and the surrounding area.
There was also interest from Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus, who said he wants to buy 100% of the club and sell some controlling shares back to the fans, but his interest appears to have ended.
However, it is possible that the Glazers will look to sell only a minority stake and not sanction a full takeover. That would explain recent reported interest from US investment giant Carlyle.
Is Sir Jim Ratcliffe buying Manchester United?
If Manchester United are to get a new owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has long seemed the most likely person to takeover.
On January 17, 2023, Ratcliffe's firm Ineos officially declared an interest in buying Manchester United. With the Glazer family looking to sell, Ineos said the company had "formally put ourselves into the process."
He backed up his interest with an official statement on February 18, confirming a bid had been submitted.
Official: INEOS confirm bid submitted for Man Utd 🚨🔴 #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 18, 2023
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe-INEOS made a bid for majority ownership of Manchester United.
“We see role as long-term custodians of Man Utd — invest to make it the number one club in the world again & win the Chanpions League”. pic.twitter.com/0pa0l6y5xE
Ratcliffe, who lodged an unsuccessful £4.25bn offer to buy Chelsea last year, is currently ranked the 27th wealthiest person in the UK on the Sunday Times Rich List.
The 69-year-old was born in the Greater Manchester region, in Oldham, and grew up supporting the club.
Ratcliffe founded chemicals company Ineos in 1998 and this has allowed him to build an estimated net worth of £12 billion ($14.4m).
He has previously declared his interest in buying Manchester United should the opportunity arise and his recent late bid for Chelsea shows he's ready to pounce.
Outside of football, Ratcliffe also purchased the Team Sky cycling franchise in 2019 which was rebranded to Ineos Grenadiers, while Ineos have sponsorship deals with Mercedes AMG F1 and the All Blacks.
"We made some mistakes at Lausanne, but we are fast learners, these have been rectified and we are already seeing the benefits," Ratcliffe said after completing a deal to buy Nice in 2019.
"Clubs need to be successful off the pitch, as well as on it, and Nice will be no different.
"We have looked at a lot of clubs in the manner we look at businesses in Ineos — for value and potential — and Nice fulfils that criteria."
Ratcliffe and his team visited Old Trafford on March 17 to negotiate with United CEO Richard Arnold, ahead of what the Brit hopes will be a successful takeover bid.
NEW | 1st pictures of British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrives at Old Trafford with Ineos delegation to be met by Manchester United chief exec Richard Arnold for talks over potential takeover #ManUtd #ineos ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/XzxYFobbWJ
— Dan Roan (@danroan) March 17, 2023
Is a Qatar investment group buying Manchester United?
Ratcliffe may not get his wish, of course, after news of a Qatari bid for United came to the fore.
News in England, first broken by the Daily Mail late on February 7, said a group of wealthy Qatari investors were ready to table a bid for the club that they believe will blow their rivals out of the water.
However, fresh reports on March 10, from Sky Sports, claimed the investment group fronted by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani have told United they will not be pressured into overpaying in the negotiations.
They are rumoured to value the club at around £4.5bn, with the Glazer's own projection closer to £6bn — which may leave the two parties a sizeable distance apart, although funds aren't thought to be an issue for Sheikh Jassim.
The Glazers own stance of an openness towards a complete sale will be utilised to tip the talks in their favour, however, Sheikh Jassim has previously demonstrated his willingness to walk away from Premier League investment links, if the deal does not work for him.
The investment group is also said to be confident they will not be scuppered by any conflict with the Qatar Sports Investment's ownership of Paris Saint-Germain. UEFA rules would prohibit two teams in the same competition owned by a single entity, and both United and PSG will expect to be in next season's Champions League. However, as the group attempting to buy United would be separate to QSI, there would be no problem.
On February 17, a bid from Qatari Sheikh, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani, was made official.
Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani bid in for 100% of Manchester United 🚨🔴 #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 17, 2023
“The offer aims to restore the club to its former glory, both on and off the pitch, and will focus on putting fans back at the heart of Manchester United Football Club”.
Full statement ⤵️🚨 pic.twitter.com/c54Zuj1jwi
Sheikh Jassim's representatives also recently visited Old Trafford, the day before Ratcliffe's team, although he wasn't present himself, instead relying on his most trusted advisors. It was reported that the day, which included a tour around Old Trafford and 10 hours of meetings and presentations with Arnold and other United executives, was 'positive'.
As the United sale talks continue, Sheikh Jassim has increased his takeover offer to closer to £5bn, as per reports from BBC Sport. The improved package was put forward by negotiators the Raine Group, on May 16, as the Sheikh looks to gain an edge over Ratcliffe. A new revised bid was launched in early June, with a deadline for negotiations set for June 9.
What have Manchester United won under the Glazers?
Although unpopular with Manchester United supporters, the Glazer family's early reign at the club was littered with success.
In fact, only Chelsea (18) have won more trophies among English clubs than United's 14 since the takeover was completed, the most recent coming in February when they won the 2022/23 Carabao Cup.
However, only four of those trophies have come since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, and it is now 10 years since the club lifted the Premier League title.
Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
MORE: Watch every Premier League match in Canada on Fubo
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, BT Sport | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo |
Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
