The American owners of Premier League team Manchester United say they are considering selling the football club.
To this regard, the Glazer family – who bought the club for £790m ($1.34bn) in 2005 – say they are exploring “strategic alternatives.”
The move follows years of protest from fans against the ownership.
In a statement, the club said the board will “consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company.”
The process “will include an assessment of several initiatives to strengthen the club, including stadium and infrastructure redevelopment, and expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale” to enhance “the long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams, and bringing benefits to fans and other stakeholders,” the statement added.
In 2012, the Glazers sold 10 per cent of their holding in the club through a stock listing and have sold more shares in the years that followed.
Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer – executive co-chairmen and directors of the club – said: “As we seek to continue building on the club’s history of success, the board has authorised a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives.
“We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximises the significant growth opportunities available to the club today and in the future.
“Throughout this process we will remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”
The statement from the club also added: “There can be no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in any transaction involving the company.
“Manchester United does not intend to make further announcements regarding the review unless and until the board has approved a specific transaction or other course of action requiring a formal announcement.”
United are fifth in the Premier League. They have neither won the title since 2013 nor won a trophy since winning the Europa League and EFL Cup in 2017.
Since 1995, the Glazer family have owned NFL side Tampa Bay Buccaneers and in 2021 Avram Glazer bought a team in the new United Arab Emirates Twenty20 cricket league.
Joel and Avram took over the day-to-day running of United after their billionaire father Malcolm suffered a stroke in April 2006, dying at the age of 85 in 2014.
According to the BBC, United were part of the failed European Super League project that rapidly collapsed in April 2021, causing Manchester United’s co-chairman Joel Glazer to later apologise for the unrest that followed.
There have been multiple protests against the Glazers’ ownership in recent years.
In May 2021, one of such protests caused United’s home league match against Liverpool to be postponed.
