Why won’t the Glazer’s sell Manchester United
When the Glazer family first purchased Manchester United in 2005 for £800m it will have been described as a personal coup where the American’s are concerned. With much of the money used to purchased the club coming in the format of loans at astonishingly high rates of interest, fans of the club and more particularly the Manchester United Supports Trust began to seek avenues of bringing the club back to the people.
With the Red Knight’s unable to find a rumoured asking price of about £1.5bn things quickly quietened down in 2010 however there are reports coming through on a weekly basis that a group from the Middle East, Qatar Holdings are looking to make a substantial bid for the club soon.
The offer believed to be around £1.5bn was apparently turned down by the Glazer family with them also stating that no bids will be entertained and that the club is not for sale. But why is it that an offer, which will almost double the Glazer’s initial investment (and the banks!) that they do not accept it?
You certainly won’t get 80% back with the Halifax so what is the main reason for not selling? Do they see Manchester United as the “cash cow” so many have suggested they are, hoping to milk every last coin out of the club until the debts are paid of and thus giving them the opportunity to make even more of a sale on it? Or are they waiting for Manchester United to be worth even more than it is rumoured to be now?
Winning trophies is what makes Manchester United so valuable, without them they will have the same sort of income as most other Premiership clubs, over time at least, perhaps they are waiting for that 19th title and yet another Champions league medal.
For fans and MUST it is a case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Should the Glazer’s hand over the reigns to a rich Sheikh from Qatar or the like, it will certainly mean no more debts but it will also mean the club is still under an ownership rule. One has to admit that the Glazer’s have been fair in their handling of the club where on field matters are concerned, they have kept their noses out and allowed Sir Alex to continue what he does better than anyone else, but would this be the case under a new regime?
The sale of Manchester United to Qatar could happen this year and the Glazer family will have made a nice fortune from it but the saying goes “better the devil you know”, whether this will be true when the Glazer’s move over is anyone’s guess and for Manchester United’s sake one will hope that any takeover is thouroughly checked over prior to turning Old Trafford into an oil field.
