Edward Glazer has opened up about Manchester United’s takeover process and how the Glazer family makes decisions around the football club.
Edward Glazer, one of the five brothers who control Manchester United, has revealed how his American family reached agreement on key decisions regarding the football club. The Glazer family has maintained a majority stake in the club since its 2005 purchase, despite enduring severe criticism from fans over millions of dollars in debt.
In 2024, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe signed a deal to buy a 27.7% stake in the club worth around $1.6 billion (£1.25 billion). As part of the agreement, Ratcliffe will take over the reins of football operations with support from Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada.
Speculation about a potential takeover sparked earlier this season after Turki Al-Sheikh posted on social media that the Reds were “in talks with new investors”. Al-Sheikh wrote in X: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United are now in the advanced stages of completing a sale deal to a new investor… I hope he is better than the previous owner.”
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He continued: “My post (yesterday) about the potential sale of Manchester United means one thing: the club is at an advanced stage of negotiations with a new investor.”
“Just to be clear, I’m not an investor and they’re not from my country. I’m posting this as a fan hoping for a deal to happen, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen.”
At the time, United officials were surprised by Al Sheikh’s activities and claimed the report was “news to them”. However, the paper’s Charlotte Dunker explained that Ratcliffe may not have a choice if the Glazers decide to sell the club.
“I definitely think it will happen if the price is right. There was a clause in Ratcliffe’s contract when he bought the club, I think it was triggered in August of this year, that the Glazers could sell the entire club if they got the right offer, I think it was around $33 a share.
“It’s also possible that the Glazer family sell the whole club, as not only their part will be bought out, but Sir Ratcliffe as well, but at the moment it seems strange given this news, this hype and this excitement that this tweet has caused.”
Speculation is swirling about a potential takeover of Old Trafford, although no formal discussions have taken place. Back in April, Edward Glazer, the youngest of the Glazer brothers, was questioned about the decision-making process within the football club.
When asked about the rationale behind the decision to sell about a quarter of United Airlines to Ratcliffe in a meeting with students from Washington’s Kogod School of Business, he explained:
“Not every decision is 6-0, but ultimately we’ve been successful as a family business because the majority of our family has always agreed that if we want to do something, we recognize that we’re in a family business and we have to do it.”
“One day it might be something I agree with. The next day it might be something I disagree with. It was a family decision (minority buyout).”
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