Manchester United have fallen into another deep crisis. The team have dropped to 18th in the Premier League, Michael Carrick is on the brink of being sacked and fans' anger towards the Glazer family and INEOS has reached its peak. Against that backdrop, talk of a full sale has resumed. According to ESPN, the American owners are waiting for the right moment to sell their majority stake, while Paul Scholes has openly backed the idea of control passing to a consortium led by David Beckham.
The financial benchmark: the club's real value
Estimating the club's value is easier than finding a viable buyer. In February 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS bought a 25% stake for £1.2 billion, valuing Manchester United at £4.8 billion. Revenue for the season preceding the deal was £648.4 million, giving a valuation-to-revenue multiple of 7.4. Recent investment deals involving Chelsea and Liverpool were completed at roughly similar multiples.
United's revenue for the 2025/26 campaign was £677.6 million. Applying the same multiple gives a valuation of around £5 billion. The board will surely try to point to the revenue forecast for 2026/27, which could exceed £700 million thanks to Champions League participation. However, with the team now in the relegation zone, their prospects of remaining in Europe's premier competition the following season look remote. Potential investors will view current revenue as a temporary anomaly, making £5 billion to £5.5 billion a realistic range for a deal.
The Glazers themselves continue to set their sights well above the market. Former United midfielder Nicky Butt previously said the family valued the asset at £8 billion. But sparking a bidding war in the current circumstances will be extremely difficult: buyers will not overpay for a club requiring enormous investment in its infrastructure and squad.
Potential buyers: three scenarios
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. The most obvious candidate: the British billionaire already owns almost 29% of the shares and has full control of football operations. Credit agreements allow debt obligations to be repaid without penalties in June 2029, making that an ideal time to buy a controlling stake. Recently, however, INEOS have been steadily reducing their football assets: Swiss club Lausanne are up for sale, while the asking price for French side Nice has been cut sharply from the original €250 million. Taking on United's growing losses while the company scales back its wider football programme looks a doubtful move.
Middle Eastern investors. Qatari Sheikh Jassim tried to buy the club in 2023, while funds from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE have recently shown interest in a deal. However, the region's financial expansion into Western sport has slowed considerably. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, has cut direct investment in Newcastle and completely wound down its LIV Golf project. Amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, investors prefer to avoid high-risk deals in European football.
An American consortium led by David Beckham. The most likely scenario is attracting private capital from the US, with club legends involved as public faces. The recent investment in Liverpool by a consortium involving Jeff Bezos-backed entities demonstrated the strong interest of America's wealthiest families in England's top clubs. Beckham, who has managed Inter Miami since 2014, looks an ideal link between investors and fans for a revival of the club at Old Trafford.
