Who are the Glazers who own Manchester United and how did Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment happen?

With the future ownership of Manchester United now clear after the Glazer family sold more than a 25% stake to billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe - how did it get to this point?

Sir Jim's confirmation in becoming a co-owner of Manchester United was finalised in February after purchasing 27.7% of the club - worth a reported £1.25billion.

Talks of a takeover bid or the Glazers potentially selling the club lingered in the background for more than a year.

The Glazers announced they would be open to a potential sale of the club in the 22/23 football season after suffering their worst start in more than 100 years.

But who are the Glazer family, why do Red Devils fans dislike them so much and how will their co-ownership with Sir Jim Ratcliffe work?

Who are the Glazer family?

Malcom Glazer was the first person in the family to get involved with Manchester United.

He was an American businessman who was the CEO of First Allied Corporation. This was a holding company that oversaw his portfolio of companies, including: Harley-Davidson, Tonka Toys and Omega Protein.

He slowly built up ownership of companies in the media, gas and oil, healthcare and eventually - sports teams.

In 1995, he bought the franchise for the American football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a then record $192 million. The club saw initial success, winning the Super Bowl in 2002.

At the turn of the millennium, Malcolm Glazer had his sights set on European football. At the time, Manchester United were one of the most successful clubs in the world, winning an array of silverware under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Between 2003 and 2005, Malcom Glazer acquired ownership of the club by buying out existing shareholders for around $790 million.

How did the Glazers buy the club and why is it controversial?

Manchester United were purchased by the Glazer family partially from PIK (payment in kind) loans from US hedge funds. These were paid off in November 2010.

Some of this money was secured against the clubs assets, incurring interest. United's revenue has been used to service this debt.

Fans argue this money used to pay off the debt could be used on other areas of the club, like buying players, upgrading the stadium or academy facilities.

The Glazer takeover also coincided with a huge increase of commercialism to the club.

Though not unique to United, some fans were so unhappy with the ownership they formed a breakaway club. FC United of Manchester was founded in 2005 and still play in Moston today.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, United's fortunes have dwindled. Though employing a succession of Europe's most elite managers, they have not recaptured the form from earlier years.

Why are the Glazers unpopular?

There are several reasons why the Glazer family are unpopular with United fans.

Before Malcolm Glazer became involved, Rupert Murdoch had failed with his own takeover of the club in 1998.

Murdoch's bid was unpopular because of his ownership of BSkyB (which runs Sky Sports) and some saw this as a conflict of interest.

Many fans also felt that they did not want their club to become a private commercial entity, when they felt United should represent its working class fanbase.

The conflict came to boiling point in April 2021, when Joel Glazer (son of Malcom) was heavily involved in the founding of a potential European Super League.

This Super League would consist of Europe's top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, breaking away from their domestic leagues.

Fans resented this idea, saying it removed sporting competition and fairness towards smaller clubs.

United fans demonstrated their unhappiness with the Glazers involvement before a game against Liverpool in May 2021.

Fans' actions stormed the field at Old Trafford, causing the game to be postponed.

During the protest, a police officer was left seriously injured and protesters gathered outside the ground and allegedly began to throw bottles, 'significantly slashing' one officer’s face.

Supporters' group The 1958 planned multiple protests ahead of United's live televised games to get their voices heard.

In a statement released ahead of a Premier League game with Liverpool, the group said it was "a game for United fans to come together and show the world our deep discontent for this vile ownership.

"An ownership that is systematically starving and killing the greatest football institution in world football, for greed.

"We can not allow this to happen any longer! This is not about division, this is about unity. All United fans have the right to protest with the 1958 or individually.

"It is not about confrontation. Anything else plays completely into the Glazers hands."

Who put themselves in the running for Manchester United?

Sheikh Jassim’s team announced he had submitted a bid to buy 100% of the club in February 2022, promising a completely debt-free takeover via his Nine Two Foundation.

The bid is understood to have eventually reached around £5bn, with an additional £1.4bn pledged for investment into infrastructure projects.

However, the Qatari's offer was not adequate for the Glazers and the businessman pulled out of the race in October in 2023.

Michael Knighton, a former United director, told ITV Granada Reports he wanted the help of Sir Jim Ratcliffe to force a hostile takeover from the Glazer family.

He said: "If we can smoke the great Sir Jim out to buy Manchester United my consortium will be punching the air because we've achieved what we want to do."

Knighton had a bid to buy the Red Devils accepted in 1989 - but it never happened. However, he previous said he believed he can get hold of the club, explaining he had been speaking to three potential partners to put forward a deal.

"They are small-time billionaires that I have been speaking to for three to four months now", Knighton explains.

"When I was approached by some fan groups, oddly enough, saying 'look, our club is dying on its feet' would you please do something?'

"I made a few phone calls and I've been pulling this consortium together ever since."

How did Sir Jim Ratcliffe win the race for Manchester United?

After United's very poor start to the season on the pitch, in August 2022, Bloomberg reported the Glazer family were considering selling a minority stake in the club.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the richest men in Britain, expressed interest. Mr Ratcliffe tabled a last minute bid to buy Chelsea but lost out to American billionaire Todd Boehly in early 2022.

A spokesman for Ratcliffe, the Ineos boss, told ITV News: "We are confirming interest if the club is for sale", before later saying it had been told it was not.

According to The Times, the Failsworth-born chemical engineer wanted to buy a stake in the club "with a view to taking full control if the Glazers welcome new investment."

With being the last person in contention for ownership in the club, his 25% acquisition was confirmed in January with "responsibility for the management of the club’s football operations".

What was the trigger for the Glazers to consider new interests?

The announcement about a potential sale came just hours after Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United with immediate effect.

The striker claimed he was being "pushed out" by Manchester United bosses in an interview with Piers Morgan.

Speaking to Piers Morgan, the 37-year-old criticised the way the club is run and took aim at the club's owners, manager and younger players during the interview.

Ronaldo said he did not respect boss Erik ten Hag, and claimed Wayne Rooney was jealous of him.

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