ManU owners the Glazers "have no plans to sell" the club in the "near future," with the Glazers "determined to be in place for at least the next five years," according to Jamie Jackson of the London GUARDIAN. The news will "not be well received by those supporters who harbour on-going discontent at the family’s ownership model." Despite the "recent share issue which earned the family" around $150M and "raised to 15% the amount of the club ceded by the Glazers to outside interests," the Glazers are reportedly "intent on continuing as proprietors of the 20-times champions for the foreseeable future." While the share issue had "no material affect on who controls United, it once more caused speculation that the Glazers may be preparing to cash in by selling the club in its entirety." With ManU "currently experiencing exponential growth commercially the
Glazers are content with the direction of the club, according to high
ranking sources at Old Trafford," with the aim to continue "marrying the
on-field success of recent years with the expansion of its global
profile." The Glazers believe the "increase in United’s number of sponsors, which currently stands at 35 globally, plus recent lucrative blue-chip deals will continue" (GUARDIAN, 8/20).
DOWN TO THE WIRE: In London, Oliver Kay wrote ManU Executive Vice Chair Ed Woodward is facing "an uncomfortable, but inescapable truth," the club's appeal to sponsors like adidas and Chevy "is as great as ever, the reality is very different when it comes to recruiting elite footballers of the type that Woodward seemed to think would rush to Old Trafford even without the prospect of playing Champions League football this season" (LONDON TIMES, 8/21).
