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Put Man United up for sale:
Joel
and
Avram Glazer
, representatives of Manchester United's owning Glazer family
Photo: OLI SCARFF / AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo
(37) has long been at odds with Manchester United and the British Premier League club with him.
What may have accelerated the abrupt sacking of the five-time world footballer was the Portuguese's most recent accusation in an interview that the US owners were no longer interested in "ManU".
Late on Tuesday evening, the owners said in a statement that they were examining "all strategic alternatives", including new investments and also a sale of the Premier League, currently fifth in the table.
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No longer in the Man Utd jersey: Ronaldo accused coach Erik ten Hag of "treason" and sharply criticized the Glazer family who own the club.
Photo: Jon Super / dpa
"As we seek to continue to build on the club's track record, the board has approved a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives,"
Avram
, 62, and
Joel Glazer
, 55, are quoted as saying in the statement.
The Glazer family bought the 144-year-old traditional club in 2005 for £790m.
Manchester United has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2012 and is currently worth around $2.5 billion.
The stock had already risen on Monday and Tuesday and jumped up by a good 10 percent on Wednesday.
In 2018, the club had a market capitalization of $4.3 billion at its peak.
However, it remains to be seen whether a buyer can be found for Man Utd so quickly.
Because the choice for possible billionaire investors is increasing – in addition to ManU, the owners of rival Liverpool under coach Jürgen Klopp are also considering a sale.
Jim Ratcliffe
(70), multi-billionaire and owner of the petrochemical company Ineos, had revoked his originally expressed interest in buying Manchester United in November.
According to the announcement, the Glazer family hired the US investment bank Raine Group to take care of a possible sale or external financing.
Observers also interpret the latter as a step towards a possible takeover.
Rothschild bankers and experts from international law firm Latham & Watkins are advising Man Utd owners on their project.
The investment bank Raine is no stranger to the billion dollar business in the Premier League.
This year, she already handled the more than three billion dollar sale of Premier League club Chelsea FC to US billionaire
Todd Boehly
(49) and Clearlake Capital.
Boehly is involved in several top teams in the US baseball league NBA.
Fans make serious allegations against ManU owners
The owners do not enjoy a good reputation among fans.
Back in 2005, they condemned the largely leveraged takeover by the Glazers, which saddled the club with significant debt.
They also accuse the owners that the family invests too little - for example in the stadium expansion or new players - and at the same time collects plenty of dividends.
According to British reports, this is also the reason why the fans see the long dry spell in sport that ManU has been through.
Most recently, professional footballers won the Europa League and the League Cup in 2017. Manchester City and Liverpool in particular have dominated English professional football for years.
According to CEO Tom Werner
(72) , the owners of Liverpool, the
Fenway Sports Group
(FSG), are also considering
a sale.
"We're considering a sale. But there's no rush," Werner explained in mid-November, thereby reaffirming FSG's interest in selling, which was announced in early November.
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With new bosses in the future?
Germany's
Jürgen Klopp
has been coaching Liverpool since 2015 and is already a legend in the port city
Photo: Zac Goodwin / dpa
The Fenway Sports Group, which, in addition to the Reds, also owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team in the MLB, took over Liverpool in October 2010 for £300 million.
The investment bankers at Goldman Sachs, who are tasked with initiating the possible deal with Morgan Stanley, estimate the value of the 19-time English champions at around five billion dollars.
Liverpool coach Klopp soon with new bosses?
It is said that there are already several prospective buyers for the Reds, with coach
Jürgen Klopp
(55) still under contract until 2026.
As recently as 2021, the Americans had rejected an offer from the Middle East for the equivalent of 3.4 billion euros.
Liverpool and ManU had wanted to found a European super league with other top European clubs in April last year, but then put the plans on hold, mainly because of the massive opposition from fans and other clubs.
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