Reports claim the Glazer family has already set a ‘sell’ price for Manchester United following interest from Saudi Arabia.
In early 2024, INEOS chief executive Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased a 25% stake in Man United, making him a co-owner. As part of the deal, he took control of football operations at Old Trafford.
Mr Ratcliffe has since injected more money into the Premier League giants, increasing his stake to around 29%, but he is still far from a majority shareholder.
His appointment was initially received very favorably as it would reduce the Glazer family’s grip on Old Trafford, but his popularity quickly waned as he made enemies by authorizing a brutal cost-cutting program to balance the books.
Ratcliffe has been marginalized for treating staff and fans poorly, while also being criticized for poor decision-making regarding Ruben Amorim, Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth.
Read: Premier League CRISIS Rankings: Forest 2nd, West Ham 3rd, but what about Liverpool and Manchester United?
Now, Saudi government official Turki Al-Sheikh has boldly claimed that the Red Devils are on the brink of being sold.
He said in “X”: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United are currently at an advanced stage of completing a sale agreement to a new investor. I hope he is better than the previous owner.”
Al-Sheikh is the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and responsible for some of Saudi Arabia’s biggest events, making him one of the most powerful figures in the sports world.
The 44-year-old has also ventured into the world of football, having previously owned Egyptian clubs Pyramid and Spain’s Almeria, and is currently in talks with Man United over a possible participation in the Riyadh Season Cup.
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A new report in the Mirror has revealed how much the Glazer family would like to sell to Saudi Arabia, with offers of more than £5bn being “considered”.
Man United’s value on the stock market is just £2bn, but Al Sheikh said: “To have a realistic chance of convincing the Glazers to sell, they would need to start making a bid of around £5.2bn.”
The report adds:
“The Glazer family will demand a huge premium to reflect the potential for United’s value to rise in the future. This will include taking into account how much United would be worth if the club completed its plans to build a new state-of-the-art stadium.
“And one of the options left for the Glazer family is to sell part of their 48.9% stake in United in exchange for a significant investment from Saudi Arabia to fund a new stadium.”
Meanwhile, Football Insider claimed that a “source” believes that “any potential new investor in Man United is unlikely to be based in a Middle Eastern country”.
Regarding Al Sheikh’s “advanced” contract claims, the report added: “Saudi sports market experts told Football Insider that Al Sheikh’s claims are being treated as pure speculation rather than fact at this time.”
