The days of sporting glory that the team used to have seem very distant. Manchester United; Between their epic comeback against Bayern Munich to win the Champions League in 1999 and their last continental title six years ago (Europa League champion), the English club used to experience happy times and economic prosperity. Today, the situation is very different to the point that the ‘Red Devils’ have been overshadowed by their classic rival, Manchester City.
The group’s assessment Manchester United on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted this week by more than US$700 million, after press reports circulated about the withdrawal of the sale of the British soccer club.
The British newspaper Daily Mail reported earlier this week that the family Glazerthe club’s majority shareholder, would have given up selling its stake considering that the offers presented were too low.
On Tuesday, the group fell 18.22%, thus erasing just over US$ 700 million in capitalization. It was the stock’s biggest single-session drop since its IPO in 2012.
According to the British press, the two potential buyers still on the list, the founder and CEO of the petrochemical group Ineos, Jim Ratcliffeand Sheikh Jassin Bin Hamad al Thani, president of the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), presented similar offers, valuing the club at around 5 billion pounds (about $6.3 billion).
But, according to the Daily Mail, the Glazer They expected about 10 billion pounds to give up control of the club, of which they own around two-thirds of the capital but almost all the voting rights.
The figure is significantly higher than the estimate given by most other British media, of around £6bn.
They don’t want them
The market capitalization of Manchester United It is now about US$3.15 billion, less than half the price that the Glazers aspire to receive (US$7.5 billion). When the Glazers took over the club in 2005, they paid less than 800 million euros for it.
Citing anonymous sources close to the Glazer and potential buyers, the specialized site 90min indicated that talks were continuing with a view to a sale.
The club was gradually bought between 2003 and 2005 by the American businessman Malcolm Glazerwho transferred his shares to his six children after his death in 2014. The businessman’s heirs announced in November 2022 that they were considering selling the three-time Champions League winner.
The Glazer They are unpopular with many Manchester United fans, who accuse them of having put the club in debt and not having invested enough to allow the institution to remain competitive.
His management in recent years has been in question, especially after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and the drop in results that caused a period of five years without winning titles, in addition to not winning the Premier League since 2013.
This, together with complaints from fans who consider that not enough has been invested in relation to how deeply in debt the club is, leads to regular protests both in the stadium and outside of it.
Worst net spending of the decade
To crown a week of bad news, ‘Man U’ was listed on Thursday as the club with the worst net spending in the last decade, according to a study by the CIES Football Observatory, which takes into account sales and signings since 2014, in which that Barcelona appears in seventh position and Real Madrid is nineteenth.
He United It spent 1,959 million euros on incorporations and earned 563 from player sales, which leaves an imbalance of about 1,396 million. The Manchester club is followed in this table by Chelsea, with a negative balance of 1,000 million, Paris Saint Germain, with another 1,000 million, Arsenal (872 million) and Manchester City (856 million).
The Premier League is the league with the worst balance and since 2014 the clubs in the English first division have spent 21.48 billion euros in additions and have earned 10.37 billion, which represents a negative balance of 11.0 billion, well above the Super League. China (1,330 million) and the Saudi Arabian league (1,320 million).
The Spanish League has spent 7.4 billion on transfers and has earned 6.92 billion, so it has a negative balance below that of Serie A (1.12 billion) and above that of the Bundesliga (540 million).
As for the Spanish clubs, Barcelona is seventh in the table with a negative balance of 663 million euros, while Real Madrid, which has spent 1,279 million and earned 954, is nineteenth, with a balance of -325 million, according to CIES.
This 2023, the club with the worst balance is Chelseawith -557 million, followed by Al Ittihad (362 million).
According to the CIES, after the years marked by the pandemic, football has recovered its economic muscle thanks to the growth of the Premier League and the investment coming from Saudi Arabia and the United States. With this, the transfer market has reached an all-time high of 12.4 billion euros spent, compared to the 10 million of the previous record in 2019.
As additional data from a week to be forgotten, the United lost 3-1 in the most recent Premier League match against their other bitter rival, Arsenal, while dealing with a serious case of domestic violence by Brazilian international Antony against his ex-girlfriend.
With information from AFP and EFE
Source: Gestion
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