Deal Completed and Confirmed – Glazer family ‘hold talks’ with Saudi investors as deadline emerges

While in Qatar for the World Cup, Manchester United owner Avram Glazer is said to have spoken with potential purchasers for the club.

Last month, the Glazer family stated that they were looking to sell the club they had owned since 2005. The Raine Group has been appointed by the American billionaires to operate as United’s exclusive financial advisor and to seek interested investors.

According to The Athletic, Glazer is in Doha to watch the World Cup, but he has also utilized the opportunity to speak with potential investors. It is unknown who Glazer has spoken with since his arrival in the Middle Eastern country, and both United and Raine Group have declined to comment.

He was in attendance for France’s 2-0 semi-final victory over Morocco, and he made a few brief remarks regarding United. “It’s not necessarily a sale; it’s a process, and we’re moving forward with the process,” he told The Athletic. “That’s the update, it’s the process, and the process is moving forward.”

United has previously discussed investing in the club with Saudi Arabia, as well as with Dubai-based financial funds. The statement in November indicated they were initiating a “process to investigate strategic alternatives for the club”, which might entail “new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions”.

Raine Group hopes to complete the transaction by the end of the first quarter of 2023. They are hoping to sell for between £6 billion and £7 billion, having reduced their initial asking price.

The Glazers followed Fenway Sports Group’s decision to seek a sale of Liverpool after Chelsea was sold for £2.5 billion to a consortium led by Todd Boehly in May.

Since completing a £790 million leveraged buyout of United in May 2005, the Glazers have presided over a 17-year reign. United fans have consistently protested their ownership, with their use of borrowing, which has burdened the club with a debt of approximately £500 million and would cost more than £1 billion to service, proving extremely unpopular.

Avram Glazer also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl in 2020, and a cricket franchise in the United Arab Emirates T20 cricket league.

United manager Erik ten Hag is looking for a swift sale. “More investment is possible, which is wonderful,” he stated recently after chatting with CEO Richard Arnold.

“We discussed the culture we desire, objectives, goals, and the culture, and he confirmed that it will not change. It will be much better because additional funding will be made available for this initiative.”