What is the record takeover of a professional sports club?

Things are finally looking up for Manchester United on the field after a fairly length period in the doldrums, by their own high standards. In his first season in charge, Erik Ten Hag has the Red Devils in the Premier League title race, has taken them into the League Cup final and will be confident of leading his team into the round of 16 of the Europa League after a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the playoff round in Barcelona. And things could also be looking up off the field, with the Glazer family, United’s unpopular owners, seemingly willing to sell the club if the right offer comes along (although whether they will indeed be considered ‘up’ could well depend on the identity of the buyer).

When could Manchester United have new owners?

The Glazers revealed in November that they were in search of new investors in the club but that they could also be willing to sell up, depending on the bids they receive. According to Sky News, a potential sale would be concluded by Easter, with offers set to come in for the club in the coming hours.

When is the deadline to submit a bid for Manchester United?

The Glazer family have been working alongside US-based Raine Group Bank and have set a soft deadline of 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday for any potential bidders.

Who will bid for Manchester United?

British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is the CEO of the INEOS chemicals group, has already publicly declared his interest in taking the club off the Glazers. Ratcliffe, a United fan, has already been heavily involved in the ownership of sports clubs, with INEOS currently owning Swiss Challenge League side Lausanne Sport and taking over the Team Sky cycling franchise, now named INEOS Grenadiers. Ratcliffe has reportedly been interested in investing in fellow Premier League clubs Chelsea and West Ham United in the past.

A Qatari bid for Manchester United has also been rumoured for some time and Sky News journalist Rob Harris has revealed that another bid is likely to be fronted by the former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who is also the ex-head of the Qatar Investment Authority, with whom he is still involved in some capacity.

The QIA’s bid is complicated somewhat by the fact that they are state-backed in the same was as Qatar Sports Investments, who own Paris Saint-Germain are, with UEFA regulations stating that two teams that have the same majority owner are not allowed to compete in the same tournaments (which would an issue for the Champions League). Were QIA, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, eventually to take over the club, some kind of workaround would presumably have to be reached.

How much will it cost to buy Manchester United?

United have been listed on the New York stock exchange since 2012, where their market value is estimated at around $4.4 billion. However, £5 billion ($6 billion) has been quoted by Sky as a starting price, which means we could well be looking at a new record sale for a professional sports club.

What is the record sale for a professional sports club?

The record for the biggest takeover of a professional sports club in history was broken twice in 2022. First, American businessman and LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly led a consortium which splashed out an initial $2.99 billion to take over former Champions League winners Chelsea in May (they will spend around another $2.1 billion on infrastructure, which we probably can’t count just yet) before Walmart heir Rob Walton paid a reported $4.65 billion to buy NFL team the Denver Broncos in June .