The Glazers are finally open to selling United

You are not, in fact, dreaming. The ownership of Manchester United is indeed up for grabs. The most famous club in the sport of football around the world has been owned by the Glazer family for the past 17 years. Now, the Glazers have decided to put the club up for sale and are open to receiving offers of new investment.

The word on the street is that it could still just be a partial sale, a slight relinquishment of power in order to finance the long-overdue renovations that are required for the infrastructure at Old Trafford and the training ground. This is the cautious word that has been floating around.

That hasn't stopped United fans from dreaming of a proper power shift, though, and it makes a lot of sense for the Glazer family to cash in now and make a huge profit from their leveraged buyout of the club, which should have never been allowed in the first place. United fans haven't let that stop them from dreaming of a proper power shift, though.

There is not much of a hurdle for potential owners to jump through in order to take control of Old Trafford if they choose to do so. The Glazers funded the purchase of the club with a loan of over half a billion dollars, made the club pay the interest on the deal, took dividend payments for themselves, and rarely invested their own money in the club; however, they will now walk away with an enormous profit from the sale of the club.

It is also not a coincidence that they are looking to sell at the same time that Liverpool are also on the market. The two sets of American owners seem to be aware that it is possible that they will never get such a high return on their profits, especially considering the fact that their hopes for a European Super League proposal have been crushed to such an extreme degree.

Given that the Raine Group was successful in obtaining an initial price of $2.85 billion for Chelsea, there is certainly confidence in a much higher purchase price for a club that has a wider global appeal and huge marketing appeal. United has appointed the Raine Group to oversee the sale of the club.

But who exactly is in a position to purchase United? Many supporters continue to look to Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the embodiment of the dream. Since he was a child, the billionaire owner of Ineos has been a supporter of United, and in August of this year, he expressed interest in purchasing the club. Since then, he has suggested that Premier League sides are grossly overvalued and not necessarily a wise business investment as he turns his focus onto French club Nice. Nice is the current focus of his attention.

There is also the possibility that the Red Knights, a consortium led by a former director of Manchester United and a prominent economist named Lord O'Neill, could resurrect earlier attempts to purchase the club. They unquestionably have the appropriate motives for a purchase, but if a bidding war breaks out for the club, they might be priced out of the market.

Then there is the issue that everyone is ignoring, which is sovereign investors. There has never been a more important discussion about the money in football and where it comes from than there is right now, in light of the fact that Qatar has been awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

There is a core group of diehard United supporters who will vigorously oppose any such takeover, and many of them will be ready to abandon the team if it turns out that their club is helping to facilitate sportswashing at the hands of countries that are accused of violating human rights.

There were rumors in the past that the Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman would purchase United for a large sum of money. In 2017, United signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian General Sports Authority to develop the football industry in the Gulf state.

Despite the fact that the Saudi government has denied that Bin Salman was involved, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has determined that he personally ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October of 2018. According to a report on intelligence that was declassified back in February of the previous year, Bin Salman gave the order to kill the journalist who worked for the Washington Post.

Their subsequent acquisition of Newcastle has severed all ties to a potential purchase of United, but it would not be surprising if another state-backed bid of a comparable nature were to be made.

United figures and former players traveled to Dubai just a week ago to participate in a training camp that will last for four days and a Masters football match.

Fans will have no say in who buys their club next, there will be no financial assessment of new owners, and there will be no understanding of the structure that new owners intend to implement if there is not a football regulator in place.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for the supporters of United, but it is not yet clear whether that light is caused by the sun or by another raging fire.

After seventeen years of failure, change is long overdue; however, it cannot simply be made for the sake of making a change.