Is Manchester United Being Sold To Saudi Arabian Tycoon?

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Rumour is rife that English Premier League giant Manchester United could be changing its ownership.

According to reports from the Middle East, the England’s most successful club worth billions of shillings could be sold to a Saudi Arabian investor.

Top journalist and Public Relations guru Moaid Mahjoub, who seems to be having close links with royals in Saudi Arabia, announced on Friday, that the Red Devils had already been sold, and that they were only waiting for official announcement from the club.

“Saudi Arabian investor purchase the Manchester United club yesterday. After Manchester United delegation visits to Saudi Arabia. Let’s see the official announcement from the club about the result,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

This statement was picked up by top European journalists for debate which involved the club’s fans as well.

Some fans were happy while others wished it’s not true at all.

“If United have sold their soul to the Saudis then I’m done with them. Saudia Arabia’s human rights record is the worst in the world. To take this blood money just to achieve success and win a couple of titles. Give me League 1 football over these cowboys ownership,” one fan said.

“It was mentioned this week that United were once again, sending their people to Saudi,” another one wrote.

Others doubted the authenticity of the announcer while others thought it looked legit.

“Fake, can’t be announced like that for a start over the Public Share issue and that guy is a fake account,” one wrote.

“I worked in the Middle East for a number of years and have mutual friends with this guy. Certainly not a fake account or anything,” one confessed.

Meanwhile, who has been owning Manchester United all along?

One can only really consider the American Glazer family to be the owners of United. They possess the vast majority of the voting rights that come with any available shares, which means that as long as they are in agreement with one another, there is not much that can be done by anybody else.

However, there are some other parties who can claim to at least own part of United.

The Glazer family floated some shares – with reduced voting influence – on the New York Stock Exchange, which means that pretty much anyone can buy at least one share of Manchester United.

At the moment, the biggest holder of the shares on the stock exchange is a fund run by Ron Baron, an American investor, and a British fund called Lindsell Train, which invests in some of the most famous brands in the world.

Kevin Glazer is one of six siblings in the Glazer family along with Joel, Avram, Bryan, Edward and Darcie.

Joel, Bryan and Avram are the public face of the United ownership, occasionally making appearances at Old Trafford.

It was their father, Malcolm Glazer, who oversaw the takeover of Manchester United in 2004, and he passed on his business empire to his children when he died in 2014.

Kevin Glazer was at one time chairman of the First Allied Corporation, which is the holding company for the Glazer family’s various business interests.

The family also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a long-struggling NFL team, and a huge network of shopping malls across America.

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