In a major U-turn, the Glazers family have decided to put off the sale of Premier League club Manchester United till 2025. The development, reported by Daily Mail, comes after the Glazers decided to hold out for their asking price of £10billion to part ways with the club.
Notably, Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe both submitted bids worth around £ 5 billion for full control of the club earlier this year.
The development will surely leave Manchester United supporters hugely frustrated. They had believed that a sale could be on the cards. Earlier, the fans staged a sit-in protest at Old Trafford last week that urged the family to sell up but the Glazers have long ignored supporters.
“The Glazers are thick-skinned and won’t be influenced by any negative fan reactions,” a source in the Glazers family said. The source added that the family had originally planned to attract multiple serious bidders, but the plan didn’t work out.
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The reason behind this decision by the Glazers to take United off the market now, says the source, is that the Glazer family will try to sell the club again in 2025, when they hope financial and ‘environmental’ factors may attract more bidders.
The Glazers hope for a higher price thanks to an uplift in TV rights revenues, the expansion of FIFA’s Club World Cup to 32 teams from 2025, which could be very lucrative, and the forthcoming 2026 World Cup. That event, to be hosted in the USA, will heighten the interest of American billionaires in football investments. The Glazers think this may help them sell United for between £7billion and £10bn.
The Glazers anticipate a higher price because of an increase in TV rights profits, the upcoming 2026 World Cup, and the expansion of FIFA’s Club World Cup to 32 clubs starting in 2025. The fact that it will take place in the United States will increase American millionaires’ interest in investing in the sport of football. The Glazers believe that doing so may enable them to sell United for between £7 billion and $10 billion.
The Glazers have heavily backed manager Erik ten Hag in the transfer market since the latter’s arrival and hope he can deliver major silverware to the club over the next two seasons, which would help boost the sale price.
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