Live broadcast on March 11th According to the Daily Telegraph, with the hope of the club’s rapid transfer fading, the Glazer family’s process of selling Manchester United may continue to be delayed until the end of this season.
The Glazer family now thinks that if they decide to transfer the club’s firepower, they will sell Manchester United before the summer transfer window opens in June. Their goal is to complete the transaction before the first quarter of this year or the end of April, but according to informed sources, this possibility seems to be getting smaller and smaller, and it is considered a more realistic time frame to complete the transfer before the summer window opens in June, if the Glazers receive an acceptable offer.
The Glazers hope to sell Manchester United to at least 5 billion pounds, but it is believed that the bids of Sheikh Jasim Al Thani and Sir Jim ratcliffe are currently lower than this valuation. It is understood that the senior manager of Elliott Management, an American hedge fund, went to Manchester this Thursday and met with Rene Bank, a commercial bank in charge of Manchester United’s transfer process, and representatives of Rothschild, the Glazer family financial adviser. In the evening, representatives of Elliott Fund went to Old Trafford to watch Manchester United beat real betis 4-1 in the Europa League. This interview marks the opening of the second stage of Manchester United’s sales process. Next week, Sheikh Jassim and representatives of ratcliffe’s Ineos Group will go to Old Trafford to attend a detailed meeting.
According to people familiar with the matter, at least four companies are interested in acquiring Manchester United, although only Jassim Al-Thani and ratcliffe are open bidders at present. The source told the Daily Telegraph that although the Glazer family’s 18-year ownership of Manchester United has been negatively evaluated due to long-term fan protests, they will only "resolutely sell" if they receive the right price. Next week, potential bidders will inquire about Manchester United’s more detailed financial information, and have the opportunity to carefully inspect Old Trafford Stadium and Carrington Training Base, which need a lot of investment to improve in the future. A source said: "They will have the opportunity to look at something more internal."
Elliott Fund does not intend to directly acquire Manchester United Club like Jassim Al Thani or ratcliffe, but is ready to provide acquisition funds for an interested enterprise. They owned AC Milan before selling the club to Hong Niao Capital, an American investment group, last year. In addition, several American hedge funds, including Ares, MSD Partners and Oak Management, are also said to be willing to provide financing for potential acquirers.
The timing of the announcement comes just before United’s process of determining the sponsor of next season’s jersey advertisement begins. They can find a new sponsor, but industry experts will not be surprised that Team Viewer will stay on the chest of Manchester United jerseys next season. A number of sources said that Manchester United will not rush to determine the sponsor of the jersey, especially in the case that the club may be about to transfer. They are still determined to find a suitable advertising partner. Richard Arnold, CEO of Manchester United, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January that Manchester United has attracted the interest of many potential sponsors.
Teamwiewer is under great pressure from its investors to suspend the sponsorship deal with Manchester United. The sponsorship originally expired in 2026, but the company’s performance has been deteriorating. If, as estimated, Team Viewer stays on Manchester United’s jersey next season, then Manchester United may change to a new chest advertising sponsor in 2024-25.
