Why Glazers could sell £4.3bn Man Utd ‘before February 2027’ with three potential buyers named
It could be in the Glazer family’s interest to sell Man Utd ‘before February 2027’ amid takeover rumours, according to reports.
Saudi government official Turki Al-Sheikh caused a stir earlier this week when he suggested that the Red Devils were close to bringing a new investor on board.
Keeping tight-lipped about the details of the deal, Al-Sheikh wrote on X: ‘The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor – I hope he’s better than the previous owners.’
The Glazers sold 27.7 per cent of Man Utd to Sir Jim Ratcliffe back in February 2024 with the INEOS founder given control of football operations.
Ratcliffe batted off interest from Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim as the American owners eventually decided to take a miniority ownership offer over a full-scale takeover.
The British billionaire has undergone a controversial cost-cutting exercise since joining with club legends, staff and fans all impacted by the cuts.
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Ratcliffe is looking to win the Premier League by 2028 and move Man Utd into a new 100,000-seater stadium as soon as possible.
However, there could be a possibility that Ratcliffe could now be bought out with Al-Sheikh insisting that he is “not the investor”.
Clarifying his message earlier in the week, Al-Sheikh wrote on X: “My yesterday’s post about Manchester United’s potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor.
“Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.”
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And now The Athletic have explained ‘the context of this week’s reports and what they could mean’ and whether the Glazers could look to sell.
The report claims: ‘Whether they have an appetite to sell or not is the several-billion-dollar question, but the terms of the agreement with Ratcliffe arguably make it in the family’s interest to do so before February 2027.
‘Until then, as detailed above, Ratcliffe will be guaranteed to earn at least $33 per share for his stake if dragged. The Glazers would expect at least the same for their shares, thereby raising the floor of any deal.’
The Athletic insist the club’s minimum valuation is £4.3bn with the report naming Sheikh Jassim, a United Arab Emirates-based consortium and Elon Musk as potential buyers, although they did not say if there was definitely still interest from any of those parties.
