Man Utd sale in jeopardy as Glazers get greedy

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:00 CDT
• 4 min read

The Glazer family hope to sell Manchester United for up to €8 million in the first quarter of 2023, but it is a radical overvaluation of the club that could scupper any deal.

United were put on the market in November with the Glazers announcing they would "explore strategic alternatives" - music to the ears of many Red Devils fans who have wanted them gone since the moment the patriarch of the family, Malcolm, took control in 2005 with a debt-leveraged deal.

While Man Utd are one of the most marketable brands in the world, it is unlikely they will be able to fetch anything like as much as they have reportedly instructed the Raine Group, an investment banking firm, to secure for them.

READ: How much are the Glazers selling Man Utd for?

United's current market capitalisation - all shares multiplied by the stock price - currently stands at €3.14 billion, and although the price could be driven higher than that by multiple bidders, it is unlikely the Glazers will be able to sell for more than twice that figure.

Chelsea's €2.91bn sale to a consortium led by Todd Boehly in May - with a further €2.04bn promised for a significant redevelopment of Stamford Bridge - has emboldened the Glazers, but there are two key reasons a bid in the region of €8bn is completely unrealistic.

Take Chelsea's change of ownership. Granted, United are a bigger footballing brand and have won a record 20 league titles to the Blues' six, but Chelsea were based in London, more attractive than Manchester for investors, and there was a hard deadline imposed on their sale with Roman Abramovich no longer allowed to own them as a Russian national.

Both factors drove up Chelsea's price. Neither will apply to United.

READ: Three Ronaldo replacements we KNOW are on Man Utd’s shortlist

How much interest is there in Man Utd?

Then there are the supposed interested parties. Everyone from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and tech giant Apple to former midfielder David Beckham and private investors from Saudi Arabia have been linked with a move, but while Ratcliffe and Beckham have both admitted their interest, the other two should be taken with a pinch of salt.

"The only time Apple buys other companies is to integrate intellectual property into products," writes the Athletic's Laurie Whitwell. "Apple is also careful about sponsorship too - you won't find its logo on team shirts or other third-party brands."

Asian prospectors are also unwilling to be extorted with Liverpool also on the market.

It is in the Raine Group's interests to fan the waves of reported interest to drive United's price up, but there is limited truth in how many bids have been received.

United are also around €1.16bn in debt, and Old Trafford is in a worse state than Stamford Bridge is, the expected investment needed on United's ground alone enough to make some investors baulk.

The Labour Party are also leading in the polls ahead of next year's UK General Election and widely expected to clamp down on foreign ownership if they come into power, hence the Glazers are trying to cash in now.

But up to €8bn for their asset is Fantasy Land, even if the club does eventually go for a record amount.