The Manchester United share has lost more value than ever before within one day. This is likely to be linked to a media report on ownership.
Manchester United have made a very mixed start to the new Premier League season, and their share price has now taken a nasty tumble too – although there is probably no direct link between the two. The fact that the share price on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted by a historic 18.2 per cent to 19.35 US dollars (approx. 18 euros) on Tuesday is more likely to be due to a media report.
The “Mail on Sunday” had reported that a change of ownership at the English record champion had fallen through for the time being. According to the report, none of the interested parties was prepared to offer a sum in the order of magnitude envisaged by the Glazer family: allegedly to yield around ten billion pounds, more than twelve times what they had paid when they took over in 2005.
Will the Glazers now wait until 2025 to sell?
Already last November, the latter had announced it was considering a sale of the club after more than 15 years, although it always remained unclear whether it planned to pull out completely. Subsequently, Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the filthy rich head of the “Ineos” group, had submitted bids in several bidding rounds. Although rumours had circulated in the meantime – apparently due to a fake news tweet – that Al Thani had prevailed, none of the bids has been accepted to date. And that is apparently where it remains.
According to the Mail on Sunday, the Glazers, who are unpopular with the vast majority of fans, are planning to wait until 2025 before selling, when new TV revenues are expected and the World Cup is due to take place in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The result of this rumoured U-turn was the biggest share price fall in one day since ManUnited was listed (2012).
ManUnited not taking any action on Antony for now
The news fits seamlessly into the mix at the Red Devils. With only six points from the first four games, the start of the season failed, which is additionally accompanied by many side noises. After Mason Greenwood, who was loaned to Getafe FC after much back and forth, serious allegations of domestic violence were recently made against another player, Antony. After the silence on Monday, ManUnited released a terse statement on Tuesday without – unlike Brazil’s federation – announcing any initial consequences. They take the matter of Antony “seriously” but will not comment further “until further information is available”.
