Glazers could stay at Man United as majority owners
The Glazers could end up remaining with Manchester United as majority owners despite putting the club up for sale. David Blitzer and Joshua Harris are supposedly interested in a minority stake in the club. Daily Mail reports that the Americans are considering making a bid soon. This would keep the Glazers on as majority owners.
American duo already co-own PL club
Biltzer and Harris currently co-own Crystal Palace. This means that the duo would have to sell their stock in the south London club before moving to United. The Americans previously purchased around 18% stake each in Palace at the end of 2015. Six years later, John Textor joined the club with a 40% ownership stake.
The pair previously missed out on the opportunity to buy Chelsea last summer. Now, Blitzer and Harris could switch their focus to United. A consortium led by Todd Boehly trumped to two American businessmen with a $5.4 billion deal to buy the Blues.
The Glazers have clearly welcomed other investors at United. However, it remains to be seen if they prefer a full sale or a partial investment. Selling a minority stake in the club would help raise funds, while also keeping the family in charge of the Premier League giants as well.
Others interested in taking over as United majority owners from Glazers
Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe also expressed interest in purchasing United. The British businessman is currently the CEO with chemical company INEOS. Ratcliffe would, however, most likely want a full purchase of the club. Although many Red Devils fans are welcoming the billionaire’s interest in the team, Greenpeace is pleading with the Glazers not to sell to Ratcliffe.
The environmental group claims that INEOS is terrible for the planet. “Accepting this bid would be an awful own goal for Manchester United,” a Greenpeace spokesperson told Mirror. “Petrochemicals giant INEOS is just the latest fossil fuel company trying to use a popular sport to distract from their climate-wrecking business.”
“With interests in oil and gas, plastics and agrichemicals, INEOS has a hat trick of environmental harms to its name. They are top of the table for plastic production in the UK and are one of the loudest voices in favor of fracking.”
The Glazers are currently asking for over $6 billion for a full sale of the club. This has obviously turned some investors away. Negotiations could end up driving the purchase price down; however, a partial sale could also be in the cards.
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