The Story of the Glazer Takeover of Man United

Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show

The Athletic

Sports, Soccer,

4.6 • 639 Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to this special two-part Talk of the Devils Extra, a detailed history of the controversial purchase and subsequent ownership of Manchester United by American investor Malcolm Glazer and his six children.

This first part will recount the events leading up to the Glazer takeover in 2005 with contributions from three key perspectives; fan activist Andy Walsh, former Labour Minister for Sport Richard Caborn, and United board member, economist Jim O'Neill.

In part two to follow 24 hours later we will bring the story up to the present day, analyse the relationship between the Glazers and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and try to forecast the future of United's ownership.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The Athletic FC Podcast Network.
0:04.1	They were sort of into the early part of why United might be in the spotlight, exploiting
0:23.6	this incredible global brand as an investment.
0:26.6	They could not buy another business with the international recognition for the same price.
0:33.6	I think it's quite possible that the glazers have made more cash out of owning United
0:41.9	than any other sports owners ever. My assessment of it was that they saw an opportunity,
0:49.5	a business opportunity, a sporting business opportunity. Eventually, Greek took over. People were attacked on the streets, physically attacked on the streets. Spatat.
1:04.0	If it were now, because of how much the debt has become, that might be different.
1:11.6	They've never been welcome in Manchester. They never will be welcome in Manchester.
1:16.6	They know that, but they don't care. In 2005, Manchester United Football Club had the world at its feet. Two years earlier, under legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, they'd won a 15th English league title, their eighth in the past
1:46.2	11 years. The success on the field was well timed. Just over a decade earlier, the formation
1:52.0	of the Premier League triggered a rush of investment. From European outcast just a few years earlier,
1:58.0	the English domestic game was taking its first steps to world domination.
2:03.1	As the money began to pour in, especially from lucrative broadcasting rights, investors took notice.
2:09.7	Owning a football club had never been seen as a way to make money, quite the opposite, but the
2:14.5	game had changed. Enter Malcolm Glazer, a New York raised real estate and business owner.
2:20.9	Already in possession of the NFL franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he, along with
2:25.8	his six children, saw an opportunity in Manchester that seemingly few others had.
2:31.8	In this special two-part Talk the Devil's Extra, we'll take you back to 2005 and tell
2:37.1	the story of how the glazers pulled off the deal to win control of the club.
2:41.9	We'll examine whether it could and should have been avoided and consider the ramifications
2:46.6	which are still being felt as powerfully as ever two decades on.
	...

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