Manchester United Is For Sale. Here’s Who Can Afford To Buy It.

One of the world’s most famous soccer clubs, Manchester United, is on the market.

Yesterday, the billionaire Glazer family, worth an estimated $4.7 billion, released a statement announcing it was “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives” for the English Premier League club.

Sky News, which first reported the news, said the family would consider outside investment that could include a “full-blown auction”.

It is welcome news for Manchester United fans, the vast majority of whom would be pleased to see the back of the Glazers. During their 17-year ownership, there have been regular fan protests and a slide in performance. United regularly won the championship in the 1990s and 2000s but its last title was in 2013. Last season it collected the fewest points in its Premier League-era history and finished sixth.

Forbes estimates Manchester United to be worth $4.6 billion, making it the third-most valuable soccer club in the world.

The Glazers’s statement is no guarantee the club will be sold (or that the family will accept any outside investment). But it is an invitation to interested buyers.

Despite years of under performance, United remains a top asset in the soccer world. There will be plenty of interested buyers, but the club will not come cheap.

Here’s who can afford to buy Manchester United.

US investors

United has appointed The Raine Group, which advised on the the sale of Chelsea earlier this year, exclusive financial adviser for the process. The choice of the New York-headquartered group is a hint United see America as a key market for potential buyers.

US investors continue to be drawn to European soccer with nearly half of Premier League clubs controlled by Americans. In May, Todd Boehly, part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, led a takeover of Chelsea FC for £2.5 billion plus a further committed investment of £1.75bn. He has said Premier League clubs are undervalued.

In June, another US investment group, RedBird Capital Partners, announced it had agreed to acquire Italian champion AC Milan for €1.2bn.

It would not be a surprise to see other US consortiums (including some of those that bid unsuccessfully for Chelsea) in for United.

One potential factor for interested buyers is Liverpool, United’s great rival, is also potentially for sale. Its American owner Fenway Sports Group is also seeking new investment.

Liverpool may be seen as the more attractive asset – it has more recent success (including a Champions League title) and stadium upgrades arranged. United’s Old Trafford stadium requires substantial renovation work. That potential expenditure will be unlikely to put off most investors, but should be kept in mind.

Wealthy individual

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, worth $13 billion, has made no secret of his love for United. He is a lifelong fan and, in October, told the Financial Times he had met the Glazer family: “I have met Joel and Avram. They are the nicest people, I have to say, proper gentlemen. They don’t want to sell it (the club).”

Ratcliffe, founder and majority owner of chemical giant Ineos Group, also made a late bid for Chelsea before the offer from Boehly’s group was accepted. Ineos owns Nice soccer club in France and United would be the jewel in the crown of its sports portfolio. Whether Ratcliffe is willing to invest more than a third of his fortune in United remains to be seen.

Ratcliffe, and other rich individuals, may be reluctant to make such a purchase on their own. Even for a billionaire, a price tag of $5bn (or higher) is steep. But Ratcliffe is unlikely to be the only billionaire interested in taking control of United.

Even after the collapse of the Super League (for now, at least), the value growth others have achieved with clubs in the world’s most popular sport will be appealing.

Sovereign wealth fund

European clubs owned by funds linked to sovereign nations include Manchester City (Abu Dhabi United Group), Newcastle United (PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) and Paris Saint-Germain (Qatar Sports Investments).

It seems unlikely those nations would want to buy another club though neighboring Gulf nations may be interested. There were previously rumors the sovereign wealth fund of Dubai would consider United. Or perhaps another oil-rich state, like Bahrain or Kuwait, will want to get into European soccer.

The tens, or hundreds, of billions in sovereign funds makes nation states a viable buyer for a club the size of United. It could leave fans in an uncomfortable moral position, however.

Fans

The romantic option but the least likely. A fan takeover of a club the size of United is virtually impossible. As soccer has grown in popularity, the valuations of clubs has rocketed.

The best fans can hope for is an owner who properly engages with them, listens and provides some genuine fan representation on the club’s board. Even better, an owner who does all that and brings some on-field success back to Old Trafford.