The Glazer family are open to selling Manchester United

The mastermind behind the failed effort twelve years ago by the Red Knights to wrestle control of Manchester United away from the Glazer family has indicated that he is open to the idea of putting together a group in an effort to purchase the club now that it is up for sale.

However, the former head of Goldman Sachs, Lord Jim O'Neill, was born in Gatley, and he would only get involved in the project if the chances of success were high and the Glazers lowered their "unrealistic" demands.United's American owners issued a statement on Tuesday night confirming that they were open to new investment or a full sale of the club. However, it is anticipated that they will ask for as much as £5 billion if they decide to sell the club in its entirety.

Since the summer, the Glazers have been looking for investors in the club, and they are currently in the process of drawing up plans to redevelop Old Trafford and Carrington. However, O'Neill believes that the decision to now go public is a sign that the Glazers have not received the amount of interest that they might have expected.

According to an interview that O'Neill gave to the Manchester Evening News, he said, "[Those figures are] obviously what they're floating, but I don't think that's realistic." O'Neill said this because the few intelligent people who might be vaguely capable of putting those kinds of sums together can see the same information that the Glazers can see.

"Anyone who has been in business and thinks of ownership of assets that people want, you don't need to go to a public statement to attract buyers at a premium," said the speaker. "You don't need to go to a public statement to attract buyers at a premium."

O'Neill has had the impression that this day would eventually arrive over the past few years, particularly since the Glazers have been forced to give up their efforts to join the European Super League in the spring of 2021.

"As the years progressed, I'm not surprised; if you look at the culmination of events starting the debacle over the ESL, I think their ownership had gotten more complicated in their own heads," he said. "I'm not surprised because as the years progressed I didn't pay attention to what was going on."

"They probably believe that Chelsea was purchased for an excessively high price, and that United should be valued higher. Now, in my opinion, they are acting a little strangely and a little bit desperately by going so public that they can capture anyone who is naive enough to pay them the money that they want. This strikes me as a bit strange."

O'Neill, who is 65 years old, believes the Glazers' decision to involve The Raine Group, who were hired to manage the sale of Chelsea, to act as the club's "financial advisor" during the process is an indication that they would like an auction-style sale. The Raine Group was hired to manage the sale of Chelsea.

O'Neill is of the opinion that United's fanbase will be "pretty hostile to anything vaguely like a repeat of the Glazers," despite the fact that this could be an attraction for investors from the United States.

"The only thing that will really work is if some creative buyer comes along who basically has a better purpose behind owning United and is willing to pay a lot of money to the Glazers in order to acquire the club. You could count them on less than one hand if you tried to think of everyone in the world who would be willing to do that "he added.

Lord O'Neill

In 2010, O'Neill and Sir Paul Marshall, a hedge fund manager, were the driving forces behind the original Red Knights campaign, which aimed to submit a bid for the club that was 1.25 times its current value.

They would eventually come to the conclusion that the takeover wasn't going to be successful; however, O'Neill, a former boss at Goldman Sachs, would consider resurrecting his interest in the company, despite the fact that he admits that he finds it difficult to see a path to success at the present time.

"If I thought I could be part of some really value-based, purpose-based, better ownership of United, I would, but it would be very, very difficult," he said. "If I thought I could be part of some really value-based, purpose-based, better ownership of United, I would."

"I don't want to put myself through everything that happened 12 years ago unless I think the chances of success are strong and going into it I think it's very hard," she said. "I don't want to put myself through everything that happened 12 years ago."