The words “Glazers Out” are hardly new to Manchester United supporters. We have been hoping, begging, and demanding that they get out of our club for a very long time. This week, there have been rumblings that our wish may be on its way to getting granted.
Don’t get too excited. It’s very early days. But apparently, the Glazers have started discussing an exit plan.
I say again: don’t get too excited, these are only rumours, but they come from a reputable source. Bloomberg reported that several of the lesser spotted Glazer family members have been talking about selling part or all of their Manchester United holdings.
Basically, a few individuals want to cash out now United are a more attractive prospect, but they are reportedly trying to convince other family members to join them. United’s New York listed shares rose by 7% after Bloomberg’s report, which shows that investors were encouraged by the news.
It doesn’t mean anything just yet, but the fact the Glazers are even having these conversations is a good thing. If they are motivated to sell, it could only be a matter of time.
Ownership Structure As Things Stand
As things stand, members of the Glazer family own a 48.9% stake in the club, having floated 22.2% on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012, and sold off the other 28.9% to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS in 2024.
Part of that INEOS deal included handing over football operations, and I think we can all agree that things have improved since then.
The Glazers might not have much to do with the day to day running of the club, but they still have ultimate control because these deals were structured to leave them with 67.9% of voting rights despite owning less than 50% of the club. Why? Because Man United has a two tier share structure. The publicly traded Class A shares are worth one vote each, while the Class B shares (the type owned by the Glazers and INEOS) are worth ten votes each.
However, if only a few members of the family want to sell their shares in the club, it would still weaken the overall position of the remaining Glazers and hopefully make them more likely to sell in the future. It could also lead to another complicated reshuffling of shares, because we don’t know who they would sell to.
In an ideal world, the whole family would decide to call it a day and INEOS would take full control, but for reasons I am about to go into, that outcome is far from guaranteed.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Finances
The natural person to take ownership of any shares that were sold would be Jim Ratcliffe. This was his long term plan when he came on board after all. He’s already heavily involved, has control of football operations, seems to genuinely care about restoring United to the top of the game, and to top it off, he’s a Manchester lad.
There are also some contractual arrangements giving INEOS a strong position in the case of share sales. It’s not a case of having first refusal, it’s more complex than that, but they can’t be ignored if the ownership picture is going to change.
The real issue, is whether INEOS could afford to buy the Glazers out if the opportunity arose.
According to the 2025 annual report, INEOS currently has a debt of $19 billion across all its major businesses. The chemicals business has been hit by a difficult market not helped by the fractious global situation, and its two core groups are both loss making. At least in the short term.
INEOS aren’t about to collapse or anything, but they aren’t exactly in a position to freely chuck several billion more at Manchester United. It’s not just the purchase cost either, the club are still in loads of debt – although the finances are more stable now – and this new stadium idea is expensive too.
I’m not saying Ratcliffe definitely can’t increase his holding, I’m just saying it’s far from a foregone conclusion.
What Happens Next
There are a few possibilities.
If Ratcliffe could find a way to buy more shares and move towards majority control that would be the best case scenario. A single owner would be less complicated, would remove any possibility of more pillaging from the Glazers, and would allow us to move on.
Sir Jim might need to bring in partners to help finance a larger deal of course, which would introduce new people and potentially new problems. Equally, they could be fantastic additions. Personally, I would rather take this risk than have the Glazers stick around.
Another scenario would see a new bidder come in to buy the club outright, or at least buy the Glazers’ stake, and become the new majority stake holder. Who knows who that could be, but one thing is for sure, it won’t be Sheikh Jassim, who has already ruled himself out. A brand new owner would give us a clean break, but there is no guarantee the new owner would be a good one.
The least satisfying option would be for this to all come to nothing. The Glazers would remain indefinitely, and nothing would change.
We want the Glazers out for sure, but if someone new comes in to replace them, their reasons and intentions have to be right.
Should We Be Hopeful?
I am.
This news hasn’t come out of nowhere, and the Glazers have already relinquished some control with the sale to INEOS, so we know they are open to it. I feel like this could be the beginning of another change, and even if it’s only a partial change, it’s another step in the right direction.
Ultimately, the Glazers only care about money. If you think of United as a stock market price, they are currently about as high as they have ever been. In other words, it’s a very good time to sell for anyone who wants out.
But as we know, a full sale of a club this big is not easy. They tried to do it after their strategic review in 2022 and could only manage a partial deal two years later. If someone comes along with the cash though, I think they will take it. Whether that person is Sir Jim Ratcliffe or someone else entirely is anyone’s guess.
I would suggest proceeding with cautious optimism.