Source: Global Times
[Global Times Special Correspondent Li Jiayin] "As one of the most successful football clubs in the world, Manchester United is currently at the bottom of the Premier League this season. In the past 10 years, 8 coaches have taken charge. Some fans and investors are considering whether to let the club owner, the American Glazer family, sell the club." Reuters html commented on the farce of Musk's "acquisition" of Manchester United on the 317th, but there are indeed people who want to take over Manchester United now.
In 2005, the American Glazer family acquired Manchester United for 790 million pounds (about 6.5 billion yuan). Although Manchester United has been listed on NYSE since 2012, Glazer family still retains most of the club's ownership. Bloomberg said people familiar with the matter revealed that the Glazer family will consider selling a minority stake in Manchester United, but are not ready to sell control of the club, with Manchester United currently valued at about £5 billion.
A spokesperson for Inex Group said that if Manchester United is listed, then Inex Group President and the richest man in the UK, Ratcliffe is one of the potential buyers. According to the British " Times ", Ratcliff hopes to negotiate with Glazer on Manchester United's minority equity. Ratcliff is a well-known Manchester United fan. He was once close to acquiring Chelsea . According to Forbes' 2022 wealth list, Ratcliff's net worth reached US$16.3 billion.
The Independent said that industry insiders believe that Manchester United's acquisition will become the largest acquisition in global sports history and may occur within the next one or two years. At present, at least three consortiums are making official offers around Manchester United, and the Glazer family may sell Manchester United for $6 billion. In addition to Ratcliff, the Ricketts family, who owns Major League Baseball Chicago Cubs, is also considered a potential buyer. The British " Daily Mail " said that the Glazer family wants to sell Manchester United's minority equity to private equity firm Apollo.
Manchester United's poor performance in the new season has made fans dissatisfied, and Manchester United fan organizations are stepping up protests against the Glazer family. In the eyes of many Manchester United fans, the club is just the "money tree" of the Glazer family. According to the British " Sun ", after taking over Manchester United, the Glazer family has taken away about 1.1 billion pounds of funds from the club in the past 17 years. In addition, the Glazer family also took away £166 million in dividends from Manchester United.
The amount of funds taken from Manchester United by the Glazer family is the best in the Premier League. Although the team invested a total of £1.4 billion in the transfer market, the money comes from club revenue, not the boss's additional investment. What is even more "heartbreaking" is that Manchester United's signing effect is very poor. After joining C Ronaldo , Varane and Sancho , the team's annual salary increased from 323 million pounds to 387 million pounds 2 pounds , but the team's record did not improve.
Manchester United has other problems with "internal and external troubles": Ronaldo's stay and do not have any conclusion yet, and he also received a warning from the police. The Times said on the 17th that Ronaldo received a warning from the Merseyside County police, involving a case of a fan attack and causing financial losses. After a game in April this year, Ronaldo, who was annoyed by the team's defeat, shot the phone that the little fans stretched out when he left the court.
