Club Sale | It’s done!

[BarstoolProphet]

So Beckham is in Qatar.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co....id-beckham-inspires-england-world-7898284.amp

I see two possible reason for this:
(a) He is there to negotiate with a consortium to buy United.
(b) He is the official Ambassador of the World Cup and it wouldn’t at all be strange if he was there in any event as a rich famous former player.

I also think that it is plausible that people from the Qatar Investment Fund is in Qatar. So he could be discussing with them, or someone else, or not at all.

He's hired to be the off-pitch poster boy for the tournament, off course he is there. Also, off course key people in QSI (their sports investment subsidiary of their sovereign wealth fund) are gonna be there - they're Qatari nationals.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Even as a bitten-too-many-times cynic I know the following event is unlikely, however..

If the Glazers ended up not selling the club after all this and announced they were no longer listening to offers to but the club, what do you think the reaction would be by United fans?

 

[Bluelion7]

Every single owner of a club has free reign to preside over people from a footballing background. They often replace them, fire them, promote them etc.
No director of football has “free reign” over any club, there’s always someone above them.
You’d prefer that someone to be a rich owner,
I’d prefer it be a sporting person. As Phelan’s shorts mentions above, it tends only to be fan owned, or 50% owned clubs that have “football people” in the positions above the DoF.
Even in Spain it tends to be politicians deciding, Begiristain left due to that political bullshit at Barcelona with politicians like Laporta deciding over footballing people.

Wasn’t Txiki, ironically, finally given his free rein by an extremely rich person with no footballing background?

Even Chelsea, while a “consortium group” has a directed structure in mind. They haven’t hired an overriding DoF because they have someone they want to give it to, who has been giving input on other hires.

But even then that won’t matter in terms of the “top”. That top, or decider is either going to be one owner, a small group of owners, or the horrendous scene of 140k “owners” constantly bickering in political cliques.

The City model is really about the best you can hope for: An owner SO rich, that they just want to hire the right “top” person and see good headlines on occasion. So rich that they probably spend as much or more on horse breeding as they do the major franchise you adore. I think that’s the only way to the kind of Autonomy you want a “footballing person” to have in the modern major ownership game.

You really just want to avoid Bin Salman, or any person or group who are obviously a front for Bin Salman. Dubai and Qatar would be much preferred.

 

[Messier1994]

He's hired to be the off-pitch poster boy for the tournament, off course he is there. Also, off course key people in QSI (their sports investment subsidiary of their sovereign wealth) are gonna be there - they're Qatari nationals.

If I started one of those twitcher channels and brought content like that, how long before I have a million followers?

Sorry for my bad humor. I was just annoyed at like reports from Fabrizio Romano on how certain transactions was not "done" yet or whether someone in December is "in" or "out" in a transfer that will be made during the summer. Of course something isn't done before its done, when its done its official and everyone knows about it. Of course nobody is literary "out" in a transfer race for a transaction to be made in the summer, in December.

 

[red thru&thru]

Who needs fans on the board when you've got football luminaries like Edward Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Joel Glazer, Bryan Glazer, and Avram Glazer in the mix.

You forget about Darcie.

 

[Plant0x84]

Fan representatives on the board isn't all terrible. Fan ownership is, though

A smart one.

Get them in to keep the fans on side & then take on their views and dismiss their views

All good thinking you’re “on the board” when in reality, you might as well be pissing in the wind.

Being on the board is all well and good, it’s having an owner who will listen to you, thats the hardest and biggest hurdle

The Glazers have the ‘fan advisory board’ - which to date has made trumped up demands and statements to the press and actually achieved the sum of feck all. It’s just a means of placating fans but really had no impact on the owners or their plans for the club.

 

[Sushi Kagawa]

Fans on the board would be terrible. Good intentions but wouldn't work

 

[Valar Morghulis]

Even as a bitten-too-many-times cynic I know the following event is unlikely, however..

If the Glazers ended up not selling the club after all this and announced they were no longer listening to offers to but the club, what do you think the reaction would be by United fans?

Inital resistance but then bend over and take it.

 

[slyadams]

That's a very simple view. In terms of feck you money, Dubai got that in abundance - not just as much as KSA PIF and Abu Dhabi. They have for years been working on diversifying their sources income to be able stand on their own and not be dependant on Abu Dhabi's oil income and oil in general (less than 1% stems from oil). They have built up the city as a major tourist and financial hub and are investing heavily in sustainable energy and technology. Obviously with both the financial and tourist markets being those who have been hit the hardest from COVID and global recession, their financial status and future feels more unsecure than their neighbour's energy-funded status. However, they are still a very wealthy Emirate on paper (but have a lot of loans tied up to their income) and their ICD fund is worth way more than what's ever needed to run a successful football club.

Its not at all a simple view, Dubai is not rolling in money, quite the opposite. Putting aside whether you believe their economy is solid or not, which I don't think it is at all (a huge proportion of Duabi's economy is based on construction, which at some point must be used for something useful, for a long time a great many people living and working in Dubai lived there to build more stuff, that has the hallmarks of a bubble), its a fact they get bail out after bail out from Abu Dhabi and they do not have the cash to throw $6bn unto a football club to complete with their sugar daddies. Their ICD seems to be doing well, but if they view United as an actual investment, which should be the only reason the ICD would be interested, that will actually turn decent returns, don't expect cash to be thrown around like Abu Dhabi, the Saudi, Qataris etc.

 

[Infra-red]

Even as a bitten-too-many-times cynic I know the following event is unlikely, however..

If the Glazers ended up not selling the club after all this and announced they were no longer listening to offers to but the club, what do you think the reaction would be by United fans?

The fans would be disappointed, but nowhere in the statement released by the Glazers does it say that the club will be sold.

They need outside investment to be able to fund the stadium redevelopment, but a partial sale with one or more of the Glazers remaining in overall control, is a distinct possibility.

 

[crossy1686]

Even as a bitten-too-many-times cynic I know the following event is unlikely, however..

If the Glazers ended up not selling the club after all this and announced they were no longer listening to offers to but the club, what do you think the reaction would be by United fans?

What are the options? They’ll find a buyer at some point, we just have to wait it out. Personally I think it will get done before the summer and we’ll have new American owners and a load more debt, exciting times.

 

[Infra-red]

Inital resistance but then bend over and take it.

They'd spend a bit of money in the summer, which usually seems to do the trick.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

The fans would be disappointed, but nowhere in the statement released by the Glazers does it say that the club will be sold.

They need outside investment to be able to fund the stadium redevelopment, but a partial sale with one or more of the Glazers remaining in overall control, is a distinct possibility.

A partial sale with Glazers retaining control will not happen.

Stadium redevelopments are apparently quoted at about £800m, that's before the training base. Nobody is stumping up that money just for the Glazers to retain control.

Glazers have realised that big money is going to need to be spent and that United's revenue is starting to fall behind other English clubs, and will continue to fall and fall (as well as the value of the club) unless major investment in put into the club. So they can either spend their own money, or sell the club and add a few billion pounds into the family

 

[Infra-red]

A partial sale with Glazers retaining control will not happen.

Stadium redevelopments are apparently quoted at about £800m, that's before the training base. Nobody is stumping up that money just for the Glazers to retain control.

Glazers have realised that big money is going to need to be spent and that United's revenue is starting to fall behind other English clubs, and will continue to fall and fall (as well as the value of the club) unless major investment in put into the club. So they can either spend their own money, or sell the club and add a few billion pounds into the family

I don't agree with your assessment. By way of example, see Silver Lake, who spent $500m acquiring a 10% stake in City's parent company CFG in 2019 (and have subsequently increased their shareholding to over 18%). I could certainly see the Glazers parting with 20% of United in return for c. £1bn investment by a PE house or similar.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

I don't agree with your assessment. By way of example, see Silver Lake, who spent $500m acquiring a 10% stake in City's parent company CFG in 2019 (and have subsequently increased their shareholding to over 18%). I could certainly see the Glazers parting with 20% of United in return for c. £1bn investment by a PE house or similar.

I knew you'd reply with the city example, which is a completely different case for a multitude of reasons

I'm very very confident that there will be no partial sale and that the only option is a full sale. Unless they want to spend their own money, which they never have and they never will.

 

[Tarrou]

I don't agree with your assessment. By way of example, see Silver Lake, who spent $500m acquiring a 10% stake in City's parent company CFG in 2019 (and have subsequently increased their shareholding to over 18%). I could certainly see the Glazers parting with 20% of United in return for c. £1bn investment by a PE house or similar.

the issue wouldn't be the Glazer's taking the money, but moreover who is going to give it to them? they've been terrible owners so giving them 1bn to leave them in charge doesn't seem likely

 

[red thru&thru]

I don't agree with your assessment. By way of example, see Silver Lake, who spent $500m acquiring a 10% stake in City's parent company CFG in 2019 (and have subsequently increased their shareholding to over 18%). I could certainly see the Glazers parting with 20% of United in return for c. £1bn investment by a PE house or similar.

If the Saudi's didn't agree to this, I find it very difficult anyone else will.

 

[wolvored]

Even as a bitten-too-many-times cynic I know the following event is unlikely, however..

If the Glazers ended up not selling the club after all this and announced they were no longer listening to offers to but the club, what do you think the reaction would be by United fans?

I know little, but wouldnt that get them big fines from the stock exchange? Think its illegal to announce a sale, shares go up, then say we changed our mind.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Laporte

 

[devilish]

I don't agree with your assessment. By way of example, see Silver Lake, who spent $500m acquiring a 10% stake in City's parent company CFG in 2019 (and have subsequently increased their shareholding to over 18%). I could certainly see the Glazers parting with 20% of United in return for c. £1bn investment by a PE house or similar.

United is poorly run. We're not making much profit, the infrastructure was left to rot, sponsors are fleeing and the club's major clients (ie supporters) aren't happy. Why on earth would anyone buy a minority stake in United when he knows that he'll have no say on how the club (thus the investment) is run? The only plausible compromise would be for that investor to be given sound reassurances that the Glazers would sell him the club in the near future.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Laporte

Did he put a bid in?

 

[red thru&thru]

United is poorly run. We're not making much profit, the infrastructure was left to rot, sponsors are fleeing and the club's major clients (ie supporters) aren't happy. Why on earth would anyone buy a minority stake in United when he knows that he'll have no say on how the club (thus the investment) is run? The only plausible compromise would be for that investor to be given sound reassurances that the Glazers would sell him the club in the near future.

This.

 

[red thru&thru]

I know little, but wouldnt that get them big fines from the stock exchange? Think its illegal to announce a sale, shares go up, then say we changed our mind.

No. The Glazers covered all angles in their statement. They said all different types of investments would be explored, including a sale.

 

[oneway]

Well, athletic read the caf and probably stole my speculation

A partial sale with Glazers retaining control will not happen.

Stadium redevelopments are apparently quoted at about £800m, that's before the training base. Nobody is stumping up that money just for the Glazers to retain control.

Glazers have realised that big money is going to need to be spent and that United's revenue is starting to fall behind other English clubs, and will continue to fall and fall (as well as the value of the club) unless major investment in put into the club. So they can either spend their own money, or sell the club and add a few billion pounds into the family

Oil money is the only way for us the project is too costly for investors to make money, we need investment from those who have deeper pockets.

 

[clarkydaz]

Did he put a bid in?

 

[BarstoolProphet]

Its not at all a simple view, Dubai is not rolling in money, quite the opposite. Putting aside whether you believe their economy is solid or not, which I don't think it is at all (a huge proportion of Duabi's economy is based on construction, which at some point must be used for something useful, for a long time a great many people living and working in Dubai lived there to build more stuff, that has the hallmarks of a bubble), its a fact they get bail out after bail out from Abu Dhabi and they do not have the cash to throw $6bn unto a football club to complete with their sugar daddies. Their ICD seems to be doing well, but if they view United as an actual investment, which should be the only reason the ICD would be interested, that will actually turn decent returns, don't expect cash to be thrown around like Abu Dhabi, the Saudi, Qataris etc.

Construction contributes to way less than 10% of Dubai's GDP. They got bailed out by Abu Dhabi after the last financial crisis but has since then been working on diversifying their economy so that they won't be dependant on a fossil fuel-driven source of income, ie. having to be bailed out by Abu Dhabi. Dubai has grown to be a major tourist and financial hub, but like with every city/nations dependant on those sectors, COVID has put a halt to their economy. And financial markets itself is always a potential bubble, yet they, albeit delayed, expext a growth in GDP for 2023.

Ever since oil prices plummeted in mid-2010's, even Abu Dhabi has been wanting to diversify the sources of income and are backing Dubai in their plan to build a sustainable financial future.

It's hard to judge how much they really got, mainly because of secrecy and loan tied to their income, but I'm pretty sure that there's enough money available to compete with City and Newcastle if they wish to do so.

They ICD is worth about 300bn USD and they will by all accounts have no trouble buying United for the figures mentioned if they want to do so (not seen any credible reports of it so far, even if the word on the street is saying they are interested. ICD is headed by the Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan. The former Crown Prince, Hamdan's deceased big brother was a massive United fan. Who knows if he managed to influence his little brother in choice of football clubs.

 

[maverickjesus]

I would take Mark Goldbridge as DoF if whoever takes over wants to be hands off, get some real fan direction added to the club.

 

[AlexUTD]

I would take Mark Goldbridge as DoF if whoever takes over wants to be hands off, get some real fan direction added to the club.

And while we at it, Putin as public relations director

 

[Plant0x84]

I would take Mark Goldbridge as DoF if whoever takes over wants to be hands off, get some real fan direction added to the club.

White text is missing. WUM.

 

[ExecutionerWasp001]

I don't agree with your assessment. By way of example, see Silver Lake, who spent $500m acquiring a 10% stake in City's parent company CFG in 2019 (and have subsequently increased their shareholding to over 18%). I could certainly see the Glazers parting with 20% of United in return for c. £1bn investment by a PE house or similar.

https://www.ft.com/content/0428814e-757a-40aa-af95-fb778a3eaffb

Silver Lake invested $500 Mill into City & Abu Dhabi then invested $2 Bill into Silver Lake. Silver Lake don't need their stake in City to pay out as they are already $1.5 Bill up on the deal.

 

[Pearl.Jam]

I would take Mark Goldbridge as DoF if whoever takes over wants to be hands off, get some real fan direction added to the club.

Who’s Mark Goldbrige ? I’ve never heard of him

 

[Coops73]

https://www.ft.com/content/0428814e-757a-40aa-af95-fb778a3eaffb

Silver Lake invested $500 Mill into City & Abu Dhabi then invested $2 Bill into Silver Lake. Silver Lake don't need their stake in City to pay out as they are already $1.5 Bill up on the deal.

I’m probably sounding like a thick cnut here but is that some sort of way of offsetting/getting round ffp or something? I don’t really get how that’s allowed to happen.

 

[Amarsdd]

Who’s Mark Goldbrige ? I’ve never heard of him

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[the_cliff]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Wow.

 

[arthurka]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Brilliant, is he 10 ?

 

[croadyman]

A part of me believes that the Glazers know who they are selling to. I just hope it doesn't drag on for too long, so we can plan for the summer.

Seeing someone like Bellingham potentially available in the summer, we need to start selling our projects to them very early on.

Yeah I fear it's another US consortium

 

[croadyman]

Brilliant, is he 10 ?

Adam is destroying his reputation now too, then again he films at games which annoys me

 

[Messier1994]

Brilliant, is he 10 ?

Come on, it was a joke.

 

[croadyman]

Come on, it was a joke.

He is a joke full stop

 

[holdsteady]

Fans on the board would be terrible. Good intentions but wouldn't work

It's our club. We deserve a say