In the words of Jay-Z “we played Monopoly, with real cash.” That’s sort of what’s going on here with this historically high bidding war that the Glazers have started by putting Manchester United up on the trading block. This is definitely not something you want to hear, if you’re a #GlazerOut or #GreenAndGoldUntilTheClubIsSold kind of person, but the Glazers could yet still stay.
If United is sold, and the sale goes through, it would almost certainly break the world record for the sale of a sports franchise. The Glazers have not officially made public their asking price, but it is well understood to be close to $7.25-$7.3 billion.
Despite big money, ok, astronomical money, coming in from at least two different entities, Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim (more on him here) and INEOS Founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe (more on him here), the Glazers could still hold out until they receive an offer that matches their demands.
From Sky News: “the highest first-round bids having valued the club at around £4.5bn – well short of the Glazer family’s widely-reported £6bn asking price.” And you also have this news too below, according to The Daily Express:
But The Athletic say that while he’s got the finances to meet the Glazers’ £6billion asking price, he’s reluctant to pay over the odds for the club. As things stand, it’s unclear what will happen. The Glazers will go for the right price, but they’re also willing to dig their heels in and stay.
Remember, a few months ago when the Glazers made their statement about beginning this exploratory process? That statement didn’t explicitly say that they were looking to sell. Instead it was bunch of corporatespeak and business school goobledly gook that left the poor open to all sorts of other kinds of arrangements.
American hedge fund Elliott Management has offered to buy a minority stake in the club, for a situation where the Glazers stay on as owners, but outside parties have more interest than the current status quo in re-organizing the club
Elliott Management have also offered to finance other parties who are interested in investing in MUFC.
Until the Glazers are gone, the supporter backlash against them will remain. Vitriol for the Glazers is everywhere, best exemplified by all the strong protests against them in real life, and all the different hash tags calling for their ouster on Twitter.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.