Man Utd takeover takes fresh twist with Glazers ‘confident’

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 17 Apr 2023 14:18 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United’s proposed takeover looks increasingly unlikely to go ahead in the manner of a full sale, with the Glazer brothers now said to be increasingly confident they will be able to secure outside investment that will allow them to remain as club owners.

ESPN reports that Joel and Avram Glazer are confident that they can drive the valuation of the club to double its current position in the next decade.

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This news comes days after a third round of bidding was opened for the full purchase of the club after the current owners were unhappy with the bids launched by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani and Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group. A third bidder, Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus, pulled out of the bidding following this announcement, declaring that the situation was becoming “a farce” as the Glazers’ asking price was excessive.

Running parallel to this process has been several investment groups willing to buy a part-stake in the club. Elliot Investment Management, Ares Management Corporation, Sixth Street Partners and The Carlyle Group have all announced their desire to become partners to the Glazer brothers at Old Trafford.

It is this latter path that now looks the likeliest for the current owners to follow.

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“A source familiar with the situation has told ESPN that brothers Joel and Avram - United's co-chairmen - favour new investment that will enable them to remain in charge at Old Trafford, with siblings and fellow directors Kevin, Bryan and Edward Glazer and Darcie Glazer Kassewitz offloading their stakes in the club,” the report states.

This news is unlikely to go down well with Man Utd supporters, who have grown tired of what they see as mismanagement at a boardroom level at Old Trafford, which has led to the club enduring more than a decade without a Premier League title, prompting protests against the Glazers, which have at times turned angry.