Manchester United owners to explore sale as Glazers seek new investment
Manchester United Football Club could finally be sold by its American owners after a 17-year reign dominated by fan protests and declining on-pitch performance.
Sky News can exclusively reveal that the Glazer family is preparing to formally announce its intention to examine potential sources of outside investment that could include a full-blown auction of arguably the world’s most famous football club.
Sources said on Tuesday that investment bankers were being instructed by Manchester United‘s owners to advise on the process, which is likely to include a full or partial sale, or strategic partnership with third parties.
A statement confirming their intentions could come imminently, one of them said.
The announcement of a review of financial options that could include a sale process would signal an end to years of speculation over whether the Glazers might be persuaded to offload a club which for the past decade has experienced an almost-unmitigated footballing decline.
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The Old Trafford side has not won the Premier League title since 2013, and has sacked a succession of managers in the aftermath of the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
More recently, the club has become embroiled in a bitter legal fight with Cristiano Ronaldo, its best-known player, over an interview in which he questioned United’s ambition and lambasted the Glazers’ approach to owning it.
On Tuesday, United announced that Mr Ronaldo had left “with immediate effect”.
It remains possible that the family, which took control of United in 2005 in a £790m deal largely funded by debt, opt not to sell.
A partial sale to new investors, with capital being raised to fund an overdue redevelopment of Old Trafford, is one potential outcome from the process.
Manchester United fans protest ahead of the Liverpool match at Old Trafford in August 2022
The Glazers have acknowledged the need for new infrastructure investment to transform the stadium into a genuinely world-class venue, while substantial funds are also required to enable the men’s team to compete once more at the top of the European game.
If United was sold outright, it would be the latest top-flight club to change hands, after Roman Abramovich agreed a £2.5bn sale of Chelsea to a consortium led by the American businessman Todd Boehly earlier this year.
United’s valuation in a sale would inevitably exceed the roughly $2.15bn market capitalisation implied by its share price during Tuesday’s trading session on the New York Stock Exchange.
Reports in recent months have speculated that any transaction would need to value the club at anywhere between £5bn and £9bn to persuade the owners to sell.
The Glazers listed a minority stake in the company in 2012 but retained overwhelming control through a dual-class share structure which means they hold almost all voting rights.
For more than 18 months, the club has been promising to introduce a modestly sized supporter ownership scheme that would give fans shares with the same structure of voting rights as the Glazers.
The initiative has, however, yet to be launched despite a pledge to have it operational by the start of the 2021-22 season.
It was one of a number of commitments made by Joel Glazer, United’s co-chairman, in the wake of the European Super League (ESL) debacle, in which the club played a pivotal role.
Manchester United was one of six Premier League teams to agree to join the project, which collapsed within hours of its official launch amid public and political acrimony.
In May 2021, Red Devils fans forced the postponement of a home match against rivals Liverpool after protesting against the ESL and the Glazer family.
“Love United, Hate Glazers” has become a familiar refrain during their tenure, with supporters critical of a perceived lack of investment in the club’s infrastructure while the owners have extracted hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of dividends as a result of its continued commercial success.
If a formal sale process is initiated, attention will turn to the identities of potential buyers.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos billionaire who has supported United since childhood, said in August that he was keen to buy the club but has since suggested that English football’s elite names are overvalued.
Billionaires from around the world will be linked to bids, as will sovereign investors seeking to emulate the kinds of takeovers seen at Newcastle United – now owned by Saudi state-backed investors – and Paris St Germain, which is Qatari-owned.
There will also be speculation that the Red Knights, a consortium led by former United director and leading economist Lord O’Neill, could revive an attempt initiated in 2010 to take control of the club.
Significantly, the prospective auction of Manchester United comes as Fenway Sports Group, the owner of Liverpool, also weighs selling all or part of the Anfield club.
Simultaneous sale processes for two of English football’s so-called ‘big six’ – the others being Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur – would be unprecedented.
One analyst said the timing suggested that some investors believed the value of top clubs could be approaching its peak, especially against a backdrop of tough global economic forecasts for the coming years.
United’s announcement is also likely to be made during a World Cup fuelled by Gulf petrodollars, underlining the shifting financing of the global football industry.
Manchester United declined to comment on Tuesday.
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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