Manchester United Owners Consider Selling Club
Manchester United’s share price has fallen by over 18 per cent at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the biggest drop in a single day since the club went public in 2012.
The shares in Manchester United closed at $19.35, which sees the value of the club diminished by an enormous £500m thanks to the startling drop in just one day, reports The Times.
The nightmare day for the club appears to have come after reports emerged that the Glazer family have changed their minds and now do not intend to sell Manchester United until 2025.
Manchester United Put Up For Sale
The Red Devils had been put up for sale back in November and there have been bids from both Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but both have been rejected.
Neither party were prepared to go beyond roughly the £6billion mark – a figure that falls someway short of the astronomical £10bn asking price set by the Glazers.
Reports emerged suggesting that the Glazers felt they will have a better chance of achieving that enormous asking price in 2025 and will take the club off the market until then.
Gary Neville Dismisses Reports
United legend Gary Neville dismissed these suggestions, telling Sky Sports: ‘I just can’t believe that it’s true.
‘I think it’s part of the game-playing, that they’ve been manipulating the stories for quite a long time now.
‘I just don’t see any way they can keep hold of the club in its entirety – I say entirety, they own 70% and the New York Stock Exchange is 30% – because they’ve got no money!
‘Everyone who sort of has a little bit of knowledge about the financial situation at the club [say] it’s desperate.
‘They keep putting it down to FFP [Financial Fair Play], they keep saying they can’t bring players on board and stuff like that.
‘They have obviously spent money and invested money this summer, but they have to bring money in and that will either be through a dilution, some sort of extra debt on the business – which no one can imagine because of the debt that’s already on the business – or they sell.’
Classic Negotiation Tactic
‘And I still think the most likely route is that they sell and that they’re trying basically to bump the price up – which is a classic negotiation tactic of many.
‘They don’t panic so they stand strong, they don’t rush, they’re knowledgeable business people and know that the more they prolong this process they might get an extra quid or two out of it.
‘Obviously it will be some extra money that they want, so I don’t believe that story this morning. I can’t believe it to be true, because they need money desperately into the club.’
Conclusion
The potential sale of Manchester United has been a saga for months and it appears that the Glazer family are hoping to bump up the price by waiting until 2025. Gary Neville believes this is a classic negotiation tactic and that they need money desperately into the club. For more news on Manchester United, check out our sport page and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.