The family that bought Manchester United in a 2005 leveraged takeover are “waiting for the right time to cash in and sell,” according to reporting picked up by The Peoples Person this week.
Two conditions keep coming up. The first is the completion of a new 100,000-seater stadium next to the current Old Trafford, which United have been assembling land for since the summer. The second is a Premier League relegation for Manchester City, following the league’s guilty verdict against the club on almost all of 115 financial charges in September.
Both tie back to the same question: what price United would command on the open market. The club closed on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday at $20.61 a share, well short of the valuation the Glazers are said to be holding out for.
The £5bn number
The figure in circulation is roughly £5bn, more than double United’s current market valuation. The Glazers’ 2005 takeover was financed with around £600m of debt loaded onto the club itself. They still hold around 72% through Class B shares, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group owning 27.7% after a £1.25bn investment that closed in February 2024.
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That split matters. Any sale by the Glazers would bypass Ratcliffe entirely, and his minority stake comes with a share-price protection clause that entitles him to a minimum of $33 per share if the family sells before February 2027. The stock is trading nowhere near that today.
Why a new stadium changes the sums
The 25-acre site United acquired in June, a triangle of industrial land immediately behind the Stretford End, is the foundation for a venue that would overtake Wembley as the biggest stadium in English football. A finished ground on that scale would reset United’s valuation profile, and the Glazers would rather sell against that promise than against the current one.
City in the Championship?
The Premier League’s independent commission found Manchester City guilty on almost all of the 115 financial charges on 25 September, but sanctions have not been handed down and City have signalled a lengthy appeal. Points deductions, financial penalties, title-stripping and relegation have all been floated as possible outcomes, though no ruling on punishment has been made.
A new name from Dubai
Football365 reported in September that interest in United is widening again, with one new name attached: Hussain Sajwani, the Emirati businessman behind the Dubai developer DAMAC Properties. The outlet wrote that family members “are considering whether to sell some or all of their remaining stake”, and that one name circulating among sources is a high-profile investor linked to DAMAC.
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No formal bid has been made. Football365 also noted that the Sajwani family had denied any interest in buying a football club in earlier reporting. What the outlet argues is clearer is the direction of travel: some of the current owners are looking at an exit, with or without a confirmed buyer in the room.
16th in the table
The backdrop is unforgiving. United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday and sit 16th in the Premier League with one win in eight matches. Michael Carrick survived crisis talks at Carrington on Monday without a decision on his future either way. He takes the squad to Chelsea on Saturday.
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