Man Utd fans were recently greeted with unexpected good news that the Glazers are exploring selling their stake in the club.
It bears repeating that the Glazers have single-handedly held the club back from unleashing its full potential in the last two decades.
Even with less than one-third of a stake, Ineos have shown what a competent and ambitious ownership can do for Man Utd in two years.
Therefore, reports of the Glazers diluting their stake further can be celebrated, but their previous sale to Ineos shows that’s as far as the extent should be.
Bloomberg reports members of the Glazer family are considering selling up: What are your thoughts?
Do you have any faith this could be a full sale, or are we looking at a gradual share sell-off?
What the Glazers did last time they sold Man Utd stake
The Glazers bought the club by saddling it with debt, and then proceeded to take millions in dividends despite holding the club back.
Then, when they finally sold their stake to Ineos, they pocketed every single penny from it, keeping the tradition of not investing a single penny of their own into the club.
The club was sucked dry, and then the husk was sold off to the highest bidder, which were Ineos, in this case.
Had the Glazers invested even 20% of their earnings from the sale into the club, the debt could have gone down under a billion.
Instead, Ineos redeveloped Carrington with their own money, and the revolving credit facility saddled the club with more debt.
Now that the Glazers are thinking of diluting even more of their stock, the only thing to celebrate here is the fact that their ownership will decrease further.
Man Utd fans must temper their expectations
As soon as the reports of the Glazers diluting their holding emerged, Man Utd fans were quick to link it to various projects, like the stadium construction or the ongoing transfer window.
Are you happy with Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
The harsh reality is, and the fans must get used to this, that the Glazers will simply pocket every penny earned from selling their shares.
It’s not a coincidence that these reports have arrived just as United posted boosted financial results, with the share price spiking.
The Glazers are simply doing what they do best, which is to take advantage of someone else’s hard work – Ineos and Carrick in this case – and get richer.
Celebrate this family taking another step towards a complete exit, but don’t have any hopes that they will ever do something good for the club.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
