Published On 4/6/2026
Parties within the Glazer family, which owns Manchester United, are considering the possibility of selling part or all of their shares in the prestigious English club, in a move that could pave the way for ending one of the most controversial ownership periods in English football after more than 20 years.
Bloomberg reported, citing informed people, that a number of members of the wealthy American family are conducting internal discussions about exiting their investments in the club, explaining that the discussions began about selling the shares of some family members before expanding to include an attempt to convince others to join them.
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Exiting is the process of an investor or partner exiting an existing investment by selling all or part of his share or shares, to convert his non-cash assets into cash.
These deliberations come at a time when the club’s owners face the prospect of shouldering a multi-billion-pound bill for the redevelopment of Old Trafford Stadium in the coming years, a project that is seen as one of the biggest financial challenges facing the current administration.
On the other hand, the team’s qualification to the Champions League enhanced the attractiveness of retaining the investment, as it provides additional financial returns and opportunities to increase the club’s market value.
According to Forbes magazine’s ranking of the most valuable football clubs in the world for the year 2026 (including debts), Manchester United came in third place with a value of $7.2 billion after Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Forbes’ classification does not only reflect the expected sale price of the club, but also measures the comprehensive economic weight of the sports institution, including the capital assets it owns, real estate, commercial revenues, sponsorship rights, television broadcasting revenues, and more.
A split within the Glazer family
According to the sources, the Glazer family has not made a final decision to leave the club, and opinions are still divided among its members regarding the best path. She also noted that some family members still oppose the sale, which could complicate any potential deal in the future.
The sources reported that any potential sale deal may attract the interest of investors from the Middle East, in addition to wealthy Americans and investors, given the club’s global status and its great commercial value.
Manchester United’s current market value is about $3.6 billion based on its share price on the New York Stock Exchange, but any complete takeover deal could far exceed this number due to the voting rights associated with the Glazer family’s shares.
Following the spread of the news, Manchester United shares rose by more than 7% in after-hours trading.
Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer are co-CEOs of the club, while their brothers hold positions on the board of directors.
Disagreements over the future of the club
The current discussions come more than two years after the family sold about 29% of the club’s shares to British businessman Jim Ratcliffe, founder of the Ineos Group, in a deal that gave him control over the club’s sporting affairs.
The Glazer family was also divided at that time between a supporter of the full sale and a preferr of retaining ownership, before settling on a deal with Ratcliffe instead of an offer submitted by a group of Qatari investors whose value exceeded 5 billion pounds sterling (about 6.3 billion dollars).
The late Malcolm Glazer bought the club in 2005 through a debt-financed takeover, a move that angered a wide segment of the club’s fans because it placed a large financial burden on the institution.
Despite the successes achieved by the team under the leadership of legendary coach Alex Ferguson, the results declined after his retirement in 2013, as a number of coaches and stars took over the team without regaining its previous glories.
Public dissatisfaction increased after the club failed to qualify for European competitions in 2025 for the first time in more than a decade, despite subsequent improvement in results and the team’s success in returning to the Champions League.
Manchester United is one of the most famous and valuable clubs in the world, having won a record number of English Premier League titles, but its local dominance has declined in recent years in favor of its rival Manchester City, which is supported by investors from Abu Dhabi, at a time when Arsenal continued to compete strongly for local titles.
