The Glazer family would consider selling a minority stake in Manchester United, according to reports, as pressure mounts on their ownership of the Old Trafford giants.
The owners have held some preliminary discussions about the possibility of bringing in a new investor, reports Bloomberg, although the American Glazer family is not yet ready to hand over control of the club, which would be valued at about £5 billion ($6 billion).
Discussions are ongoing and there’s no certainty the Glazers will decide to sell a stake in the club. A representative for United and the Glazer family declined to comment as shares rose as much as 7.6 per cent in New York on Wednesday.
United are one of the most successful clubs in world football, winning a record 13 Premier League titles and have consistently been able to attract the game’s biggest stars, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The club would attract a host of big-name investors, similar to Chelsea, who were recently sold to American billionaire Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital in a £4.25 billion deal.
The late Malcolm Glazer bought the club in a 2005 leveraged buyout that saddled it with massive debts and the family has faced distrust from supporters ever since. While this was mitigated in the early years of their ownership as the team continued to win trophies under Sir Alex Ferguson, resentment has grown steadily after the manager's retirement in 2013.
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Fan tensions have boiled over in recent weeks, with United losing the first two games of the new season, including a 4-0 drubbing at Brentford.
At the opening home match of the new campaign – a 2-1 loss to Brighton – a large group of fans walked towards Old Trafford with banners that read: “Fight greed. Fight for United. Fight Glazers” and “We want our club back”.
“Fans of Man Utd will be excited to learn that a minority stake sale is looming as this opens a door to a new insider in the club who could look to buy larger stakes in due course,” said Walid Koudmani, chief market analyst at financial brokerage XTB.
“A minority stake sale certainly opens a door that looked closed previously.”
