Manchester United could be preparing to embark on an exciting new era in the club’s history.
A statement from the Glazer family revealed they were open to selling the club outright.
Of course, a deal to buy one of the biggest sports entities in the world won’t come cheap, to say the least.
The Glazer family are likely to command bids in excess of £6billion for the club, just months after Chelsea were sold to US billionaire Todd Boehly in a deal worth up to £4.25billion.
Finding someone with enough pockets to secure such a deal is going to be tricky, but here talkSPORT.com takes a look at some of the previous contenders to buy the Premier League giants.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Britain’s richest man is certainly one of the main candidates to buy the Red Devils. He’s been a lifelong United fan and recently expressed an interest.
Ratcliffe owns Ligue 1 side Nice, Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport and cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, but United would undoubtedly be the jewel in his crown.
Worth an estimated £15billion, the 70-year-old had hinted at an offer to buy the club over the summer, before also attempting to buy Chelsea ahead of Boehly’s takeover.
Discussing his links, Ratcliffe said in October: “I have been a lifelong Manchester United fan.
“I met Joel and Avram. They are the nicest people, I must say, real gentlemen.
Elon Musk
It’s been a busy past few weeks for the world’s richest person after buying Twitter and making headlines around the world.
Valued at £154billion, Musk may not be done yet.
The 51-year-old has previously floated the idea of buying United, tweeting this summer: “Also I’m buying Manchester United, you’re welcome.”
After the tweet caught the world’s attention, Telsa owners asked Musk if he was serious – and the billionaire revealed that United were just the bulk of a joke.
He said: “No, it’s a long-running joke on Twitter. I don’t buy any sports teams.
So his interest isn’t sincere, just yet…but there’s no doubt that he’s one of the few people on the planet who can fund a deal with spare change.
Conor McGregor
The UFC superstar is another global figure who once pledged his allegiance to Man United.
McGregor has previously said he would “like” to buy Liverpool FC, while also being credited with an interest in Chelsea earlier this year.
Clearly excited about becoming Premier League owners, McGregor is unlikely to have the kind of money to buy the club on his own and is hard to take seriously at the best of times.
Perhaps he could be part of a consortium to strike a deal.
Michael Knighton
A familiar face around Old Trafford having been a former Manchester United manager.
Knighton attempted to counter the Red Devils in 1989 for a fee of £20million, a bid which was the largest ever offered for a British club.
Unfortunately, his plans were dashed when two of his backers pulled out and he instead took his place on the board.
Now 71, Knighton is keen to get the Glazer family out of the club and was plotting “a hostile takeover” earlier this summer.
However, without the funds to do it himself, it’s someone else who would need support.
sovereign states
Reports from 2019 suggested that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, chairman of the Public Investment Fund, was considering a bid to buy Man United from the Glazers.
The PIF funded a £305m takeover of Newcastle by PCP Capital Partners in October 2021.
With Qatari investment in Paris Saint-Germain and Abu Dhabi funding of Manchester City, a sovereign state attempting to buy United cannot be ruled out.
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