The Glazer family remain the majority shareholders of Man United, to the dismay of the club’s supporters.
Avram Glazer pictured at the Europa League final.
The white smoke will one day rise above Old Trafford to signal the end of the Glazers’ ownership of Manchester United, but that does not seem likely in the immediate future.
However, murmurs about some of the Glazer siblings wanting to relinquish their shares have resurfaced this week, with financial outlet Bloomberg reporting that family members are considering their options.
We have been here before. In 2023, United co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer explored the possibility of buying out their four siblings on the club’s board to secure full control at Old Trafford, but nothing came of it.
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The reason why this week’s murmurs could lead to something meaningful is the stadium project, though. United have estimated a new 100,000-seater Old Trafford will cost around £2billion.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe initially floated the idea of taxpayers partly funding the project, but that notion was rejected by politicians, and United have since confirmed that a new stadium will be financed privately.
When asked how the stadium would be financed privately, a United spokesperson said three months ago that the club continued to have positive conversations with potential investors and all stakeholders.
That could involve some of the Glazer siblings cashing in, bringing in new investors for the stadium project. They are still the majority shareholders at Old Trafford.
The Glazers sold a minority stake to Ratcliffe, who initially acquired 27.7 per cent of the club before increasing his stake to 28.94 per cent after injecting a large cash sum into United. Ratcliffe assumed control of football operations as a condition of his investment.
The situation is complicated by the split of Class A and Class B shares. The latter are more valuable, having 10 times the voting power of the Cass A shares, and there is also a drag-along clause agreed with Ratcliffe.
But analysing a potential motive for some of the Glazer siblings to part with their shares is the point of the article, and a decision to cash out at a time when investment is needed would align with what we know about them.
United unveiled ambitious plans for a new Old Trafford last year, but spades have not entered the ground due to ongoing talks with Freightliner about the ground required to begin construction work.
Last summer, reports claimed Freightliner valued the land at £350million, although Andy Burnham played down that figure, saying: “I think everyone should file that one away.”
Burnham mentioned that compulsory purchase powers could be used if necessary, though, and it might be getting to that stage, as there has been no breakthrough communicated from talks with Freightliner.
Seven months ago, a United spokesperson said the club was hopeful of reaching an agreement for the land. Three months ago, Collette Roche promised that work was ongoing in the background. Just this week, Omar Berrada said: “Hopefully we’ll have some news to share in the next weeks or months.”
Berrada added: “Once we’ve secured the land and we know the exact location of where the new stadium could be, then we will proceed to finalise the design at the stadium, which will then lead us to have a very good understanding of what the potential cost is.”
The talks to acquire the land from Freightliner have clearly not gone as United hoped. The cost of the land alone will be millions, and it would not be a surprise if rising costs become a factor for some Glazer siblings.
It’s certainly not the time for supporters to get carried away, though. Avram and Joel Glazer are still involved with the club, and there is no indication that the pair would relinquish their most valuable shares.
It will be fascinating to see how United fund the new stadium project, and how the plan may impact the make-up of the ownership. Ratcliffe is the driving force behind the move, and perhaps he plans to try to price some of the Glazers out with a view to eventually becoming majority shareholder.
It feels like something is afoot. There is usually no smoke without fire.