My Thoughts On The Manchester United Sale

This will probably be one of the biggest-ever decisions concerning Manchester United, at least in recent history.

The sale of the club from the Glazer family has been an event that United fans have been calling for, for over 15 years.

Since their controversial purchase of the club in 2005, fans have voiced their frustration towards the American-based owners with protests and chants echoing across Old Trafford, wanting them gone.

Understandably, there may be a few that are unclear as to why there has been such immense vitriol from the supporters towards the Glazer family but there are a few key reasons that explain this.

For one, when they purchased the club 17 years ago, they did so with borrowed money and lumped the subsequent debt onto the club.

The Glazers have also been criticised for the frequent dividends that were taken out of the club during their time as owners, roughly £22 million (roughly $38 million) per season.

What’s also been clear is that the Glazers viewed the club as a cash cow, where they would look to profit from the team’s success.

When it came time to reinvest within the club, they refused.

Manchester United’s cross-town rivals Manchester City, at the time when the Glazers first bought the club, were a mid to lower-table side.

They were then bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 and since then they haven’t looked back, as they invested an enormous sum of money into the club to make them successful.

To give non Manchester United fans an idea of the contrast between the difference of City and United’s owners, simply refer to this graphic below.

The Glazers took £154 million out of United between 2012 and 2021. No Premier League owner has taken out more money than them in the last 10 years.

While the Glazers took money from United, City’s owners put £684 million into their club over the same period.

Manchester City reinvested within their club, making their side one of the best in the country in recent years, but unfortunately, United have since fallen behind thanks to the appalling owners in the Glazer family.

Now fans may point to the fact that United have spent a lot of money, especially in the days since the retirement of the great Sir Alex Ferguson.

They have, but it’s not the Glazer’s money. Essentially, United made their progress in the transfer market (as an example) through the money the club generated through sponsors, sales, ticketing etc.

And let’s not forget also, the club have made some absolutely catastrophic signings for large sums of money over recent years.

Paul Pogba for £89 million and Harry Maguire for £80 million. Two players who arrived at the club following the club fumbling big deals and paying way too much.

The Glazers have been criticised quite rightly during their 17-year ownership of the club and it's about time they left.

The stadium is in dire need of investment, as do the facilities, the academy and the playing squad for both the men’s and women’s sides.

This will be a monumental task for any new owner, as while the Glazers value the club at a reported figure of around £6 billion, the issues mentioned will make matters very difficult.

Since the owners made it public in November last year that they were keen to consider “all strategic alternatives”, which included a full sale, only Sir Jim Ratcliffe has publicly expressed his intention to buy the club ahead of the Glazer’s February 17 deadline for bids.

Ratcliffe would be a popular choice amongst the fans due to the INEOS CEO being from the area and the fact that he’s a Manchester United fan.

Though he is not the only one who has been reported as a potential buyer of the club, as Mike Keegan reported that Qatar is very interested in launching a possible bid.

This is being led through their Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is also said to be a Manchester United fan.

Either way, it appears that based on early reports and only reports, as negotiations are being kept tight-lipped, Qatar is the strong favourite to become the new owner of the club.

Ratcliffe, 70, is a very wealthy man in his own right. In fact, he’s the richest man in Britain, as he’s valued at just over £12.6 billion according to Forbes.

However, despite the Emir being valued at £1.6 billion, the wealth is mostly originating from the Qatari Royal Family, who are valued at £276 billion.

So in my mind, it is probable to suggest that Ratcliffe will be unable to outbid Qatar for the club.

Now, in terms of my thoughts of a potential ownership under say Qatar or Sir Jim, I feel that neither owner will have the full support of the fanbase.

The fact that this process for the club finding new owners isn’t as transparent as Chelsea’s was, it’s leaving fans devoid of clear and concrete information.

Naturally, people would oppose Ratcliffe due to how he runs Nice in France but also his lack of worth compared to the Qataris, but people would also feel that Qatar would engage in ‘sportswashing’ should they purchase United.

Ultimately, there are pros and cons to both.

The Qatari bid looks a fraction more interesting in my eyes though.

Now this is just my personal opinion, so I could be well off the mark, however, I feel as though Qatar see PSG as leverage to buy Manchester United.

Everyone wants to be involved with the Premier League and with the well-regarded French newspaper Le Parisien’s recent report, it’s leaving me to suggest that they may consider moving on from PSG.

The paper stated that in Qatar, nobody is interested in Ligue 1. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé are just watched when they play in the Champions League.

As in many other parts of the world, the only championship that excites them the most is the Premier League.

This does leave some interesting food for thought, though it’s not exactly a surprise if it’s true. There’s more potential with a club like United than with PSG. The experiment in Paris hasn’t resulted in a Champions League trophy yet, so perhaps they’ll have more luck with Erik ten Hag’s United.

What would excite me if the Qataris were to own Manchester United is that they would be keen to support the manager as soon as possible, which is music to the ears of United fans.

When Mike Keegan made the bombshell report that Qatar was interested, he stated that if they were to be the owners, they would hand the Dutch manager the financial backing to lead the club back to the top.

Ten Hag, so far, has done an immaculate job despite having a crushing fixture schedule along with a paper-thin squad so the possibility of him having a large transfer kitty next season, is a very promising and exciting one.

Now, this is just all speculation and reports from various journalists, however, this is a time when United fans should be cautiously optimistic.

As I stated earlier, because this process that the Raine bank and the Glazer family are conducting isn’t overly transparent, we don’t exactly know who the best owners would be.

So while Qatar and Sir Jim Ratcliffe would be intriguing options, we don’t exactly know their full plans for the club.

We also don’t know if other owners out there may be better suited to own the club, whilst having the financial support of say Qatar.

Either way, Friday is looking like a very nervy but optimistic period for the club, as we should begin to see who’s keen to take this club into a new and hopefully positive direction.