[imagesource: Reuters / David Klein]

All is not well at Manchester United.

The club sit bottom of the English Premier League after two rounds of matches, a number of long-running transfer sagas appear to have created instability among the players and coaching staff, and protests against the owners are planned for Monday night’s clash with Liverpool.

A group of supporters calling themselves ‘The 1958’ are pushing for the Glazer family to sell the club. The family bought the club in 2005 for £790 million and, controversially, the takeover came by way of a leveraged buyout.

Despite tweeting that he was keen to buy the club this week, Elon Musk soon clarified that he was joking.

However, news did break yesterday that the Glazers are considering selling a minority stake in Manchester United, with preliminary discussions held about bringing in a new investor.

That may just be the first step to eventually selling the club entirely. The Independent reports that “industry sources insist the biggest takeover in global sports history is a strong possibility within the next year to 24 months”:

At least three consortiums are circling Manchester United with a view to a formal bid, as belief grows the Glazers [below] would sell the club for $6bn.

Whether the bidders are willing to pay that price remains to be seen, but The Independent has been told of a number of meetings between high-net-worth individuals and brokers since at least May, due to a growing feeling in industry circles that “the deal of the century could be on”.

That $6 billion (roughly £5 billion) figure is very much contested.

Forbes recently valued Manchester United at around £3,8 billion and other reports suggest that the Glazers would be looking for £4 billion from any sale.

The sale of Chelsea was completed this year for £4,25 billion and there are also those who say the Glazers may want a figure in excess of that, despite the on-field struggles.

The figure was seen as all the more striking because it was a forced sale due to the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A widespread expectation was that it would go for half that figure. It was seen as a “game changer” and made many in the game, including the Glazers, take note.

Other sources who spoke with Goal, and are familiar with major sporting acquisitions, claim it would take as much as £6 billion to convince the Glazers to sell.

There may be as many as three consortiums plotting to make a formal bid. The name that appears to be at the top of the list is Sir Jim Ratcliffe:

Ratcliffe is the owner of chemicals giant, INEOS, and is estimated to be worth around £13bn ($15.7bn).

He is a life-long Manchester United fan and just last week, Michael Knighton – who himself is trying to lead a hostile takeover of the Glazers – name-checked Ratcliffe [below] as a potential saviour of the club.

Ratcliffe owns French club Nice and launched a late bid to buy Chelsea earlier this year – but missed out after failing to meet the deadline to submit an official offer.

Other names bandied around include Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who has previously been (tenuously) linked with a move for the club.

Patience is not a virtue the modern football fan is blessed with, but Manchester United supporters will need it in spades if they are to eventually rid themselves of owners they have come to loathe:

The due diligence on a club of this size would take six months in a non-geopolitically-strained situation. There would then be the terms to sort. It is why analysts are putting any sales process at anywhere between a year to two years.

One feeling is that the next few months will involve “war games” as the various parties stake their positions, and jostle for value, before any process properly begins at the start of 2023.

I wonder how much would be knocked off the price if Manchester United find themselves languishing towards the foot of the table come next year?

It’s unlikely, as is a challenge for European spots this season unless the Old Trafford side can impress in the transfer market before the window shuts at the end of the month.

[sources:independent&goal]