Soccer is not a matter of life or death; it’s much more important than that. Soccer fans live and breathe the game. Manchester United fans live and breathe it more than most. For the uninitiated, Manchester United FC is not just a soccer club; it’s a brand, one of the biggest brands in world of soccer. United are to soccer what the Lakers or the Bulls are to basketball. In other words, one cannot discuss soccer without discussing Manchester United.
Historically, this is a club synonymous with prestige. However, in recent years, due to poor performances and even poorer signings, the club has become synonymous with despondency and despair. Manchester United FC is owned by the Glazers, a controversial family that also happens to own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I use the word ‘controversial’ for a very specific reason. In 2005, when the family bought United, they did so with borrowed money that was then leveraged against the team. The Glazers have essentially milked the club dry.
United fans have tasted the greatest of successes. In recent years, though, United, once the greatest club in the world, has experienced very few successes and no shortage of defeats. Silverware has been in short supply. Recent back-to-back wins over Liverpool, the Red Devil’s biggest rivals, and Southampton notwithstanding, United fans have had enough; they want the Glazers to sell the club to, shall we say, more considerate owners. Which begs the question: who will buy Manchester United?
On Tuesday, August 16, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man appeared to throw his hat in the proverbial ring. The billionaire, no stranger to controversial tweets, took to Twitter to tell his 103 million followers that he fully intended to buy United. Details of the acquisition, however, were in short supply. That’s because Musk was joking. Tesla’s CEO is not buying United – but one of these men just might.
Let’s start with Michael Knighton, a rather interesting English businessman who first came to prominence back in 1989, when he bid £20 million bid for Manchester United. The bid was rejected; instead, Knighton ended up taking a seat on the club’s board. Now, though, according to The Mirror, a British newspaper of reasonable repute, Knighton is no longer content with a seat on the board. With the help of a consortium and massive financial backing, he is “ready to return with a fresh bid.” No fan of the Glazers, Knighton told Man Utd The Religion that the club is struggling because of “an inept and frankly useless ownership who know little about this game,” adding that he has got “some good pledges and good finance.” A man who knows the club incredibly well, most United fans would welcome a bid from Knighton.
Another man who is clearly interested in the club is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the wealthiest individuals in Britain. Worth somewhere in the region of $13 billion, the English billionaire, chemical engineer and all-round businessman is heavily linked with United. The 69-year-old, who already owns OCG Nice, a soccer club in France, certainly has the wherewithal to make a bid. Will he? Only time will tell.
Then, there’s Mukesh Ambani, an Indian billionaire industrialist who has been linked with United for years. As chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd., a Fortune Global 500 company, he’s worth somewhere in the region of $95bn. Aa India’s richest man, Ambani has the finances to buy United many time over.
Finally, according to Stretty News, a site dedicated solely to Manchester United news, a New York-based investment fund is currently “putting together an offer to take over the club.” Although Stretty (named after the Stretford End, the West Stand at Old Trafford, United’s home ground) is forbidden from naming the investment fund, the authors “understand internal discussions regarding a potential offer have already taken place.”
Which begs yet another question: How much would it cost to buy Manchester United? According to Simon Jordan, a former soccer club owner himself, somewhere in the region of $6 billion. That’s a lot of money for a club that hasn’t won a single trophy of merit in years. Manchester United, a club steeped in history, is in desperate need of saving. Fans are hoping that one of the aforementioned billionaires will bail them out. Sadly (or gladly) for them, Elon Musk, won’t be making a bid.
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