Manchester United owners, the Glazers family have finally announced that they are ready to explore a sale of the club in interested parties lodge substantial offers. This comes as a major breakthrough for the club’s supporters at large who were unhappy with the ownership regime.
However, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who had to give the one final push as he lashed out at the Glazers for deteriorating the club’s progress in his interview with Piers Morgan, which led to the meltdown.
The Glazers have also released a statement regarding the same, and have hired The Raine Group to facilitate a smooth sale. Similarly, according to multiple reports, the interested parties in buying the historic club have approached Ed Woodward, Man United’s former Executive Vice-Chairman to broker a deal for them.
The accountant stepped down from his role at the club in February this year and hasn’t been linked to it in any way, until now as he is being called into action.
Woodward called upon by potential Manchester United suitors
Woodward has been linked with Manchester United ever since the Glazers family took over the club back in 2005. It was Woodward only acted as the family’s financial advisor and helped them with the takeover.
The JP Morgan accountant was then invited by the new owners to join them in a “financial planning” role. As a result of his brilliant work, Woodward was handed oversight of Manchester United’s media and marketing activities in 2007.
In 2012, Woodward was elected to the Manchester United board of directors and given the position of executive vice-chairman.
And following the retirement of CEO David Gill the same year, Glazers promoted Ed Woodward to the top-most operational role and rested upon him the responsibility of restructuring the club’s boardroom. He was in the office of the executive vice-chairman for a decade before he resigned this year.
Naturally, Woodward is a man who knows the club inside out which explains why he is been called into the picture once more. The Daily Mail reports that the 51-year-old is up for the job as well and that he is been touted as an important asset by the potential buyers given his long association with the club which spanned over 15 years, and of course, his relationship with the Glazers.
Although an unfamous personality among the United fans, Woodward could still prove to be an Ace in this competition to take over England’s biggest club.
Daily Mail further adds that tech giants Apple and Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder of clothing chain Zara, are the early frontrunners in the ring. Club legend David Beckham is also reportedly exploring the option of forming a consortium with any of the potential buyers. The potential sale of the 20-time Premier League winners is lowly catching pace as Woodward news is the biggest development of it till now.
After Chelsea now, United will be the second Premier League club this year to undergo an ownership change. It would put an end to the Glazers’ 17-year ownership, who in their statement to the club’s official website while announcing the sale said:
“The strength of Manchester United rests on the passion and loyalty of our global community of 1.1 billion fans and followers. 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. Throughout this process, we will remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”
Potential buyers would like to complete the process before the turn of the year, and the January market. This would help them to make an introductory investment in the club’s recruitment, as Todd Boehly did with Chelsea, spending almost £300 million in the summer market which was his first ever after taking over from Roman Abramovich. United does need fresh players in a number of areas, and Ten Hag won’t want his spending plans to be delayed until the next summer.