Premier League
THE GLAZERS SET £4BN ASKING PRICE TO SELL MAN UNITED AMID FAN PROTESTS
British newspaper, Mirror has reported that the American owners of Manchester United, the Glazers have slapped £4billion on the club which they bought in 2005 for £790 million.
And it’s the figure the Florida-based family believe would have been achieved if the doomed European Super League project would have gone ahead.
Throughout their unpopular 16-year ownership the Glazers have always insisted they are in United for the long haul and have shown no appetite to sell the club, instead taking yearly dividends amounting to millions while the debt stays high.
But city investors believe a bid close to their £4 billion asking price would tempt brothers Joel and Avram, who effectively run the club, to relinquish control.
The Glazers believe the astonishing price tag is justified because of United’s unique heritage and commercial pulling power that allows them to continually secure big money sponsorship deals.
The latest of those saw German-based technology company TeamViewer pay £235 million for a five-year shirt deal replacing Chevrolet from next season.
It’s huge deals like that which give United a global appeal with a world-wide fan base running into millions.
The Glazers were at the forefront of the shameful ESL plan along with Liverpool owner John W Henry.
And with the backing of New York-based investment bank J.P. Morgan Chase and Co who were providing funding for the ESL, the Glazers hoped the spin-off would be a significant increase in United’s value.
It’s been reported the ESL would have been the start of an exit strategy for the Glazers who are despised by a significant number of ‘real’ United supporters.
They’ve always been against the way the Americans – who also own NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers – have leveraged the debt and refused to engage with United’s fan base.
In 2010 they mobilised a ‘Green and Gold’ campaign to try and remove the family and the Love United, Hate Glazer message became their mantra.
Sporadic demonstrations against the US owners have failed to impact on the thick-skinned Americans with critics claiming their blatant disregard for fans is evidence their ownership is only about money.
The announcement that Ed Woodward is stepping down from his executive vice-chairman’s role later this year was greeted as a victory by some fans in the wake of the ESL collapse.
But unless a buyer comes up with £4billion or very close, United fans seem stuck with the Glazer ownership for the foreseeable future.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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