The Glazers announced last year that they were &aposexploring strategic opportunities&apos for the club, which could include selling it, and that gave supporters something they had craved: a glimpse of hope their ownership could actually end.
A statement from the club said: “Manchester United does not intend to make further announcements regarding the review unless and until the board has approved a specific transaction or other course of action requiring a formal announcement.”
It was hoped the keys to Old Trafford could be handed over before the start of the new season, but the process is still ongoing after multiple rounds of bidding involving Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The summer transfer window has closed and the Premier League campaign is well under way. There&aposs no light at the of the tunnel and supporters have continued to protest with the hope of seeing the Glazers leave the club.
Gary Neville, speaking after the defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates, criticised the American family for their negligence.
“It&aposs just a game for them, they think it&aposs a toy,” said Neville. “Of course they&aposre going to sell. They&aposre desperate for money. They can&apost even compete on FFP anymore. United are talking like a midtable club when it comes to the transfer market.
“United turn over 500m, one of the highest revenue generating clubs in the world. Chelsea, Arsenal can sign big players, United are scrambling around on FFP. I know they&aposve had losses on Covid and that could be thrown as an excuse.”
Neville is certain the Glazers are going to sell in the near future but it&aposs possible they won&apost, as they&aposve ultimately received multi-billion offers from Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe for the club without giving indication a deal is close.
The Glazers are said to value the club at 6billion and the bids have fallen below that estimation, although it&aposs remarkable that pricetag has even been set considering the debt and position United currently find themselves in.
An investigative report from the Daily Mail last week claimed the club&aposs debt had passed 1bn for the first time, with it being suggested the third-quarter results show the debts have increased from 969m to 1.005bn this year.
That rise is said to be due to a combination of gross debt, bank borrowings and outstanding transfer fees and while it&aposs only a 41million increase, surpassing the 1bn mark is certainly not a milestone to be proud of.
Following further reports of the Glazers considering taking the club off the market, the value of shares in Manchester United PLC suffered the biggest daily drop since it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.
The value of shares has fluctuated throughout the year and spikes have tended to coincide with confidence behind Sheikh Jassim&aposs bid being reported, with traders &aposbetting&apos the Qatari would be successful in acquiring the club.
Sheikh Jassim has promised to clear all of United&aposs debt in his proposal and a Qatari takeover would pay out on New York-listed shares at a takeover price, meaning there is potential profit to be made for traders.
The crash in the share price was explained by some of those traders looking to invest their money elsewhere after giving up hope the Glazers would sell the club and the evidence suggests that&aposs probably a sensible move.
There is bewilderment in Manhattan&aposs Financial District that the United strategic review has gone on for more than nine months and a financial source said a sale of this magnitude should usually take between 60 and 90 days.
The one-year anniversary of the club being put up for sale is approaching instead and some financial insiders on Wall Street believe the New York Stock Exchange should apply pressure on the Glazers to make a decision.
There is surprise at the absence of any clarification or communication since the process began and NYSE figures have taken a dim view of share price fluctuations on the basis of rumour and reports in the media.
