Joel Glazer’s view on Manchester United explained as ‘takeover offer’ comes to light
Man Utd: Fans protest against Glazers outside Old Trafford
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Joel Glazer sees himself as a big Manchester United fan, according to reports. The American has come under fire in recent times, with fans wanting him and his brother to leave the club. And it’s claimed they’ve already rejected one takeover offer believed to be in the region of £1.5million.
The Glazers arrived at Manchester United in 2005.
However, right from the off, it was clear fans weren’t happy with the Americans touching down at Old Trafford.
The Glazers have been committed, sanctioning over £1billion worth of spending in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
Yet they’ve failed to renovate Old Trafford, only spend within their means and take home huge amounts of money in dividends every single year.
On Sunday, things came to a head as United fans invaded the Theatre of Dreams and also protested outside the Lowry Hotel, forcing their match against Liverpool to be delayed.
But fans hoping the Glazers will now up and depart are set to be disappointed.
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The Athletic claim that Joel considers himself to be a huge United supporter and wants the club to be the best on the planet.
They also stick up for him, acknowledging the American has been to more matches than many other Premier League owners.
And the report also reveals that the Glazers have already turned down one takeover offer, which arrived back in 2010.
A Middle East consortium reportedly proposed a £1.5billion takeover but it was never considered – though interest in the club remains.
It is stressed, however, that the Glazers are extremely unlikely to sell United at the current moment in time.
And that’s unlikely to please supporters, with more disruptive protests planned for before the end of the season.
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Speaking in the wake of the recent protests, Manchester United Supporters’ Trust has told Glazer the power to prevent similar chaos in the future rests in his hands.
Ian Stirling, vice-chair of MUST, said: “This has been 16 years in the making, there’s been an uneasy truce with the Glazers, all that trust disappeared with one statement on the European Super League.
“It laid bare the risks to supporters put in place by these owners.
“We’ve put our demands forward to the owners, as a supporters’ trust that’s what we want to see progress on and the sooner we see that the better.
“Fans need to be listened to, they need to feel as if they are part of the club.
“For far too long we’ve felt excluded, like a value put on us instead of our support being valued.
“This was about the depth of feeling being demonstrated today and they can’t ignore it. We can’t get in the ground, we’ve not been in the ground for 14 months, it was only natural that would happen today. I won’t criticise any supporter for what they’ve done today, there were agitators on both sides.”
Peter Schmeichel, however, thinks the Glazers and United fans need to find a way to work together.
“Of course it is easy to say Manchester United’s environment should be a winning environment,” he said.
“Of course, that is absolutely a certainty.
“But how do you get there? What are the values that you need to pose for the club to get into that? I think that is an opportunity now.
“I really hope the Glazer family will take this opportunity. I absolutely hope that they see the misjudgment as they called it two weeks ago, that they really misjudged the whole situation, plus what happened [Sunday], I hope they see that as a cue to make those changes.
“At the end of the day, commercially it is a success. If you do the other side of Manchester United, the football side, you aren’t going to lose money on it… It is all about mentality, I think.
“For what has happened the last two or three weeks, I hope that the Glazer family will look at this and say, ‘Well, there is a need for us to change, a need for us to bring people in that are closer to it.’ There is a need for the family to get closer to the club.
“It is easy to say that [fans want the Glazers out].
“But the club will be, I don’t know, three, four, five billion dollars? Who’s got that kind of money to buy the football club?
“If you look at potential buyers, are they going to make it much better? Is it going to be different? There are examples, but they never bought in at that price tag.
“I would much rather that we work with the Glazers, because I think there is a willingness within the family. Work with the Glazers to make this football club what this football club is supposed to be.”
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