Glazer family consider selling stake in Man Utd as Elon Musk distances self from club
Man United fans have long been protesting about the Glazer ownership
The Glazer family, the owners of crisis-stricken Manchester United, would be open to selling a minority stake in the club, according to Bloomberg.
The Americans have had preliminary discussions about bringing in new investment but the report says that they are not ready to sell the club, which could be valued at as much as £5 billion.
United fans have long been protesting about the Glazer ownership and their management of the club has been further called into question after a disastrous start to the new season.
The Glazers bought United in 2005 in a leveraged buyout that saddled the club with massive debts.
The news comes after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, joked on social media that he was going to buy United.
“I’m buying Manchester United,” Musk tweeted, generating hundreds of thousands of likes from fans who blame the club’s ownership for their woes on and off the pitch. One user replied: “You have absolutely no idea the sheer amount of hope you just have given to a million fans worldwide. Please do buy us though.”
Musk, 51, chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, offered no details and confirmed about five hours later that he was joking. He tweeted in reply to questions: “No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams.” He added: “Standup is my side hustle.”
The owners of Manchester United are said to be mulling the sale of a stake. The world’s richest man is openly joking about buying the club outright. But it remains very early days.
Fans pushing for change should not deem the current speculation as much more than pre-match hype. It’s unclear how, when, or at what price, the Glazer family might ultimately be prepared to part company with United.
Unusually for a sports franchise, the club is a publicly-traded company. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange a decade ago, and is valued today at $2.1 billion. Manchester United PLC is still tightly controlled by the Glazers, however, who as of last year held just over 5 per cent of shares, but almost 97 per cent of the voting power.
