Sources have told ESPN that The Raine Group believe United could sell for $7 billion — a world-record price for a sports franchise — but there is a feeling within the Glazer family that if Ten Hag, who has enjoyed a good start to life at the club, can oversee prolonged success in a redeveloped or rebuilt Old Trafford, that value could eventually reach $10bn.
One of the options on the table is having work on Old Trafford, or a new purpose-built stadium, paid for by accepting an equity investment, before selling for a higher price in the future.
United have not won a Premier League title since 2013 and haven’t won the Champions League since 2008, but Ten Hag has made a positive start as manager and is on course to secure a return to the Champions League and win a trophy in his first season. United are still in four competitions and face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final on Feb. 26 (stream LIVE on ESPN+ in the U.S.), and a victory at Wembley would give United their first trophy since 2017.
Sources have told ESPN that Joel and Avram Glazer would be keen to retain control of the club if they can but that other family members believe now is the right time to sell, while a full sale is still the most likely outcome but will depend on the size and details of the investment offers received by Raine. – Rob Dawson
What happens when the person handling transfers is on strike?
PSG were not the only French club to have a fraught deadline day, with a source telling ESPN that another Ligue 1 club had a shock when they realised the member of staff meant to process transfers was on strike.
The club had just agreed a deal to sign a new player for a substantial amount of money. It was a player that the manager really wanted, in a position where the team needed an upgrade, and everyone in the organisation is delighted by the move. The only thing which needed doing was filing all the paperwork to register the transfer.
At this club, there is one person with that responsibility. They have has been doing it for years, and they are the only at the club who knows how it all works.
But Tuesday was not just transfer deadline day in France; it was also a major day of strikes and protests against planned pensions reforms that President Emmanuel Macron’s government is trying to pass. Reuters reports the French interior ministry saying a total of 1.272 million people took part in protests across the country on Tuesday, as demonstrators decided not to work and instead fill the streets of Paris and France’s other major cities, while many more simply did not go to work — including the person dedicated to the transfer filing in the aforementioned football club.
When the club realised that this key person was on strike and absent, one panicking director had to call a counterpart at another club to learn how to file the paperwork and register the new player. They managed to do register the move in time, but it was a close call. — Julien Laurens
