In an absolutely staggering day for Manchester United, it looks like the Glazer family could finally be considering selling the club. Parades outside Old Trafford incoming?
The announcement was made in an official statement by the club on Tuesday, 22 November, while most fans had not long finished watching the last World Cup game and were still digesting the news from earlier in the evening.
Should a sale actually go through (we’ll believe it when we see it), it will bring the Glazer‘s ownership of the club to an end after more than 17 years of protests and regression as a once top European team.
You can read the full statement down below, including words from the typically silent Glazers themselves.
Club statement on a process to explore strategic options for Manchester United.#MUFC
The statement detailed how the board of directors are now “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives for the club… with the ultimate goal of positioning the club to capitalize on opportunities both on the pitch and commercially.”
“As part of this process, the Board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the Company.” Yes, you read that right: they might seriously consider selling.
The mere notion of a sale will come as a surprise to virtually every football fan, let alone United supporters, as the US businessmen have long made it clear they had no intention of letting the multi-billion pound sports franchise go.
It was only just over a month ago that long-time suitor Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he was told by the Glazers directly that the club “is not for sale“.
The announcement goes on to explain that they will be examining plans on everything from “stadium and infrastructure redevelopment… expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale”, to the “long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams” before taking next steps.
They also reiterated that the fan base’s interests will also be considered as much as stakeholders. Yeah, we’ve heard that one before…
News of the club being put up for auction was first broken by The Athletic, who reported that the much-maligned American owners had instructed their banks to handle the sale of the sporting giants.
Shortly after that, Sky News revealed that the share price of the club rocketed by 17% following the rumours alone.
The sale of #mufc could be far in excess of the club's stock market valuation. Since the latest news broke, the share price has risen by as much as 17% [@MarkKleinmanSky]
Speaking in a rare statement from the two, co-chairmen and directors Joel and Avram Glazer said: “As we seek to continue building on the Club’s history of success, the Board has authorized a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives.
“We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximizes the significant growth opportunities available to the Club today and in the future.
They also insisted that they will “remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”
Whether what happens next is a full-blown agreement to sell or simply an invitation to welcome other investors on board, it is thought that the incoming parties will also be American. It also thought that were they to sell, they will be looking for offers between $5-9 billion.
Manchester United are for sale. Glazer family willing to listen to offers for the club they bought in a controversial leveraged buyout 17 years ago. Expectation if club is sold, it will be to US investors.
It has also been confirmed that banking giants Rothschild and Co. will be acting as the exclusive financial advisor to the Glazer family shareholders and all those financially invested in the club.
Before fans get too carried away, the club did reiterate that “there can be no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in any transaction involving the Company” and no further comments will be made until an official decision or breakthrough has been made.
This earth-shattering news comes just hours after the Red Devils confirmed the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo by way of mutual agreement — an outcome that seemed significantly more likely than the club being put up for sale.
Manchester United are approaching nearly a decade without a league title and have won few trophies in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson.
Moreover, despite numerous additions to the squad itself down the year, the consensus has long been that the club has seen little investment from its owners — certainly not with their own money, anyway. With that in mind, a done deal or not, this is a momentous day for United fans around the world.
While we don’t expect a decision before the end of the year, Reds may finally be able to put their Glazers Out banners down in the near future.
Benjamin Šeško quote resurfaces as Manchester United switch sole focus to pursuit of Slovenia star
Danny Jones
Slovenia striker Benjamin Šeško is now considered the primary transfer target for Manchester United for this summer window, as per multiple reports, and with the links only growing stronger as a quote relating to him and former RB Salzburg forward Erling Haaland has cropped back up.
Now on the books at the franchise club’s German counterpart in Leipzig, Šeško is one of the most highly sought-after talents in Europe at present, showing not only huge potential and a unique profile but already some impressive returns when it comes to goal contributions.
Although Haaland is ahead in terms of numbers, they do bear some resemblance in terms of height, physicality and speed for their size, and while they barely came across each other in the Red Bull setup – Šeško being loaned out to fellow Austrian side Liefering – they have drawn plenty of comparisons.
In fact, according to the 22-year-old himself, some feel he might just be “better” than the Norwegian phenomenon. At least that’s what some teammates and former colleagues are claimed to have said.
The retired defensive midfielder elaborated that Šeško was arguably the more natural all-round athlete, detailing that he has always been “smooth with the ball, very good technique, good finishing, and he jumps so high; very, very good with the head – it’s unbelievable.”
Aufhauser went on to add, however: “Erling was mentally a monster and better at the same age. This is the last five, 10 per cent that Benji has to get.”
It was also noted that while the emerging prospect may have just edged out the now fully-fledged Manchester City superstar in some departments at an early age, the big number nine always managed to find the back of the net more often.
He’s certainly kept that up in the years since then…
A 2022 quote from Šeško is all well and good, but Haaland has proved plenty of paper in just a few short years at the Etihad.
It’s also worth noting that the two attackers are not just pretty equally quick in a straight line, but both as tall as each other, clocking in at exactly 6ft 4in, with the Man City man barely three years his senior.
On the other hand, Šeško is known for keeping up multiple sports besides just football (basketball, in particular),
Besides their position, he told Amazon Prime Video Sport that he believes there is a lot of value not just in being sized up against the likes of Haaland but in trying to take cues from other pros in training, having also named a previous Red Devil himself as a key role model: one Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Most of this talk probably sounds all well and good to most United fans, but another key stumbling block in terms of a move for the budding young goalscorer is RB Leipzig’s supposed asking price, as the Bundesliga outfit is said to value him in the region of £70m.
Nevertheless, The Athletic now writes that INEOS and head coach Ruben Amorim are now solely focused on trying to sign Šeško, having previously narrowed it down to him and Premier League-proven Ollie Watkins.
Even if they get it done, the question is, will the confident forward suit English football as much as Watkins or dare we say Haaland – and furthermore, if they do, what might this mean for Manchester United’s current centre forwards?
Ruben Amorim and Rasmus Højlund both make stances clear on forward’s future at Man United
Danny Jones
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim and striker Rasmus Højlund have both made their stances clear when it comes to the forward’s future, with question marks looming over whether or not he will stay at the club this season.
The Danish international opened the scoring in the Red Devils’ third pre-season fixture on their current US tour as they went on to beat Bournemouth 4-1 in their Premier League Summer Series clash.
Adding a glancing nod on the end of the man of the match, Patrick Dorgu’s cross, Højlund headed home the first, but also impressed with some key link-up play in transition, with Amorim arguing that Man United “are playing better because he’s playing better”, despite lingering links with a move away.
Speaking to various media outlets after the full-time whistle, the number nine made his feelings on the somewhat uncertain situation “very clear”, assuring that he wants to remain at Old Trafford and “fight for [his spot] whatever happens.”
Reiterating that he just wants to “keep working hard” and “stay focused” on the job at hand, the ex-Atalanta marksman admitted that the pressure of being the main and sometimes only goal threat when arriving at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.
Speaking to the BBC’s Simon Stone, he said he “could have done with some help in terms of sharing the games a bit, especially in the beginning”, but went on to reinforce that he is more willing than ever to get stuck in, insisting: “Competition is fine with me, it sharpens me. I’m more than ready.”
The centre-forward, who is still just 22, also believes he’s still learning plenty about how to improve his game, adding, “I think you can see it in my game. I’m starting to develop and become even better in the basics” – something his manager also commented on in his own post-match duties.
Amorim, who is now eight months into the rather big job, told club media in the press conference following the promising victory over the Cherries that he was impressed with both his many others overall play compared to the previous campaign already.
Most importantly for the youngster, as well, although the Portuguese head coach wouldn’t be drawn into question regarding whether Højlund will stay at United or be sold to potentially fund a move for a new striker, he made it plain that he’s more than happy keeping him in his squad.
"I'm really happy with Rasmus, I don't know what is going to happen until the market is closed"
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim was asked about the future of Rasmus Hojlund if the club bring in a new striker 🔴 pic.twitter.com/C9yLaepGU7
“For me, it’s more than a goal,” said the 40-year-old. “For him, it’s more important the goal, and for the fans maybe […] we need goals, but the way he’s linking the play in this moment, the way he’s fighting for the balls”, paying extra compliment to how he helped “connect” and “support” from midfield to attack.
Elsewhere, INEOS are reportedly looking to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch, having reportedly honed their sights on either one of two main targets, both of whom could potentially lead the line ahead of Ramus and Joshua Zirkzee while the Dane continues to mature.
In fact, Højlund himself was keen to remind his critics that he’s “still very young”, stating: “People forget that sometimes. “I’m only 22. Not every striker scores 100 goals by that age.
You can hear what Amorim, Dorgu and others made of their outing in Chicago HERE and watch the full highlights down below.
Do you think Højlund should/will stay at Manchester United?
Danny Jones -
22nd November 2022 
