Man Utd bidder considers downgrading offer to £1.5bn with the Glazers remaining in control
Manchester United bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe could look to take just a 25 per cent stake in the club rather than full control, according to reports.
Nine months ago the owners announced a full sale was among the options being considered as part of a strategic review at the Old Trafford club.
Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe made offers to buy Man Utd, yet the interminable potential takeover process rumbles on as fans continue to protest against the Glazers.
Hopes of a full sale were seemingly dashed in September when the Mail on Sunday reported that the owners are taking the club off the market and will try to sell again in 2025.
That report led to more than £500m being knocked off Man Utd’s share price at the time but there have been reports since suggesting talks are continuing over a potential sale this year.
However, Sky News now report that Ratcliffe is ‘contemplating buying a minority stake’ in Man Utd ‘rather than seeking full control, in an effort to end a nearly 10 months-long process to resolve the club’s future ownership’.
READ MORE: Big Midweek: Newcastle v PSG, Erik ten Hag and Manchester United, Brighton, Wilfried Zaha
Sky News added:
‘Sky News has learnt Sir Jim’s Ineos Sports vehicle has proposed to the controlling Glazer family a deal that would see it acquiring chunks of both their shares and the stock publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in equal proportion.
‘That offer would entail making an offer at the same price for both sets of shares, with one suggestion on Monday evening being that Sir Jim could seek a roughly 25% stake in the club as part of his latest proposal.
‘It would need to be pitched at a valuation that the Glazers would accept, implying that Ineos Sports could spend in the region of £1.5bn if it was to acquire a quarter of United’s shares – based on earlier reports that they were seeking a minimum valuation of £6bn.’
The Glazers have come in for a lot of criticism during their time as owners at Old Trafford and former Man Utd right-back Gary Neville recently blamed them for the club’s poor start to the Premier League season.
Man Utd have lost four of their first seven Premier League matches this season and Neville said on X last month: “The Glazers are responsible. It’s how it works. You own a business and everything good and bad sits with you!
“They inherited the best in all areas. They’ve overseen 10 years of mediocrity off the pitch and on the pitch. They set the culture of greed, ill-discipline, indecision and uncertainty that runs right through the club.
“It would be best if they sold the club with some speed and efficiency and allowed at least the off the pitch items to be corrected properly that re-set the tone and culture.”
Neville added: “Football is volatile so results on the pitch can be erratic and cyclical but if the off the pitch stuff including the owners’ direction and leadership are spot on it gives you a better chance to succeed on it.”
