The Glazers have seemingly shed any day-to-day duties they had at Man United after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s part-takeover earlier this year, but that is not the case across the rest of their sports empire.
Joel and Avram Glazer were the most involved in operational matters at Old Trafford out of the six siblings, but it was a low bar.
Now, they appear even more content to be the silent partner in the alliance with Ratcliffe, who owns 27.7 per cent of the club after giving the Glazers £1.25bn for a chunk of their shares in February.
The Glazers will presumably continue to pay themselves dividends while Ratcliffe continues his root-and-branch overhaul of the club.
As well as taking the first steps towards rebuilding Old Trafford, the INEOS billionaire has named three new board members, new technical and sporting directors, and a new CEO.
He has also spoken candidly about the need to restructure United’s wage budget and eliminate the profligate spending that has characterised the Glazer era.
All that is to say, the 71-year-old’s approach is oceans apart from the Glazers’ laissez-faire philosophy.
And the latest developments in the Glazers’ homeland of the United States indicate that they are unlikely to change their ownership principles any time soon.
Glazers reject world-record Tampa Bay Buccaneers bid: A sign of things to come at Man United?
Almost half of the clubs in the Premier League are now owned by US owners with links to major league sports across the Atlantic.
The Glazers are part of this group, which could be set to grow with US private equity groups interested in opportunities at Everton, Tottenham and West Ham.
The family own two-time Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who they inherited from father Malcom Glazer following his passing in 2014.
Since winning the Super Bowl in 2020, the franchise has undergone some lean years but is now the fastest growing outfit in terms of value in the NFL, according to various analyses.
Now, industry publication Sportico have reported that the Glazers have turned down a £4.7bn takeover bid for the Buccaneers from an unnamed bidder.
That would have been a world-record price for any sports team – and by quite a margin.
Why would the Glazers turn that kind of money down? For the same reasons they elected not to sell their entire stake in Man United despite overtures from the likes of Sheikh Jassim.
The Glazers see the Bucs as a long-term capital appreciation project just like United, where they can essentially delegate duties and watch passively as the asset appreciates in value.
What is the Glazers’ long-term plan at Old Trafford?
For all intents and purposes, the Glazers’ motivations at Old Trafford mirror those of investors like Ariel Investments, who have bought equity in Man United on the New York Stock Exchange.
They want the club to appreciate and reach maximum value without really having any operation input – or indeed spending any money.
Ratcliffe’s injection has given the club capital for operating costs, as well as long-needed infrastructure investment.
Meanwhile, it seems clear that the Glazers are not willing to contribute to the redevelopment of Old Trafford or the move to a new stadium entirely.
That is why Ratcliffe has flirted with the idea of lobbying for public funds for the stadium, although that seems unlikely in any meaningful way.
Their philosophy was least subtly illustrated in both the European Super League and Project Big Picture plots, which both contained a central fund that clubs pay into for infrastructure projects.
Essentially, they wanted other clubs to pay for their stadium.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
