Manchester United will be sold in full, with a full takeover likely to be sold by the Glazer family in full by June.
That is according to Andrew Brown, executive director at investment company and Manchester United shareholder East 72.
He believes that the Glazers, while not exactly poor, simply cannot afford to run the football club anymore.
“The economics of owning a Premier League team are changing,” Brown told Football Insider.
“The Premier League is going gangbusters. It’s got all the money and it’s killing every other league. That’s why it’s attracting private equity and investors from the Gulf. You have got to have a lot of money.
“The Glazers can’t afford to own Man United. Joel and Avram Glazer are front and centre, but there are four other members of the family. They don’t necessarily operate as one entity.”
Brown points to the lack of investment in club infrastructure as a clear indication that the Glazer family need to leave the club. United have fallen behind their rivals in several key areas because of that negligence and as such, the Glazer’s position at Old Trafford untenable.
“They have spent very little on property, plant, and equipment – Carrington and Old Trafford. The Glazers aren’t poor, but they don’t want to invest.
“The share price has done very little for a long time, but we bought shares in the club before the announcement in November because we could see that the probability of a sale was increasing, and the upsides of a sale are significant.
“There has never been a better moment to sell. So we asked, who would want to buy?
“If private equity owns it, the aim is to sell it for a higher price. They will run it as a killer business. If the Qataris own it, there is no requirement for a financial return. They would own it because they want to be seen to own it.
“If you put aside the ethics, from a strictly financial point of view, if you’re a fan, you want it to be them.
“Everybody [minority shareholders] realises there is a window here. The team is, broadly speaking, on the up. There is the post-World Cup buzz. Premier League TV rights just keep going up and up.
“The Qataris would not want small shareholders like us to share their investments in the club. They want full access to the cash flow. I’m pretty convinced they would offer to buy out smaller shareholders.
“The Rothschilds are advising the Glazers. I used to work for them, and I expect them to tell the Glazers that they should walk away. They will give really sound advice.
“I would expect a sale before the end of June.”
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani’s bid is the Qatari bid to which Brown refers, and he is likely the frontrunner given his bid is a cash one and is the highest-value offer – at least out of the two public bids. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the other public bidder, with his offer of £4.3bn directed at the 69% of the club owned by the Glazer family and backed by INEOS.
It is believed that there are also, at present, two anonymous bidders interested in a full takeover of the club.
Minority investors, such as the American firm Elliot Management, have met Glazer representatives in Manchester this week as well.
But if Brown is correct, priority will be given to the likes of Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe as the Glazer family are met with the reality of the necessity of their departure.
