Watch: David Ornstein discusses chances of Ratcliffe buying Man Utd
Respected journalist David Ornstein has appeared in a new video in which he’s discussed at length the prospects of the Glazer family relinquishing control of Manchester United and selling the club to Jim Ratcliffe.
Ornstein has just signed up to make weekly appearances on Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE YouTube channel, and in his first appearance he’s discussed two of the most controversial and oft-criticised owners in the Premier League – the Glazers at Manchester United and the Kroenkes at Arsenal.
The Athletic reporter is famous for breaking transfer exclusives and knowing what’s going on behind the scenes at some of England’s biggest clubs.
“The background to this is, the Glazer family took over United in 2005. It was a leveraged buyout, which meant they used debt to buy the club, and that created a poisonous atmosphere among the fanbase from day one,” began Ornstein.
“The relationship has not really improved. They’ve taken dividends out, as you say. Many feel they haven’t invested sufficiently in recruitment, even though the club have spent huge amounts of money – is that the Glazers’ money itself? No. It’s the club’s revenues, whereas they have taken money out themselves.
“Investment in the training ground at Carrington and the stadium at Old Trafford, both of which need to be upgraded, and now they’re doing quite poorly on the pitch as well. They’ve not won a trophy since 2017. It’s been a rocky ride since Sir Alex Ferguson left.
“It terms of the clamour among many to say ‘sell’, the same was being said of the Kroenke family at Arsenal, and they were very resolute in saying – or the club said – on and off the record, ‘we’re not selling, there’s no interest there’. That message has not come from Manchester United, or from the Glazer family, in this particular round of stories. They’ve just not commented on it.
“Make of that what you will. Perhaps it shows they are here to stay, and perhaps it shows there\s a bit of light for those that want the Glazers to sell in partial or full form.
“There was a report in Bloomberg the day before we recorded this, saying that the Glazers would consider selling a stake in the club and there are plenty of interested parties in doing that, and later in the day, it emerged through Matt Dickinson in The Times that Sir Jim Ratcliffe would like to make an investment in the club with a view to a full takeover at some point in the future.”
Watch the full discussion below.
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