John Magnier and JP McManus’ stake in Manchester United left their pockets for a profit of £110million in 2005 – and given the value of the club now, you'd have thought that wasn’t a great decision.
However, they’ve landed on their feet per se and now have a combined net worth of an estimated £4.5billion – showing they're not shy of a bit of pocket change.
With the long-term future of United’s ownership still up in the air and Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe – whose wealth almost amasses to £30billion – set to purchase a 25% stake, it’s worth looking back at the men who owned the club before the Glazer turmoil.
READ MORE: 'Sir Alex Ferguson came storming in like Rambo – he absolutely slaughtered me'
READ MORE: Glazers are still a poisonous smell at Man Utd one year on from fans' dream day
Magnier and McManus were both involved with the Coolmore horse racing conglomerate at the time their ownership came to an end, and both are still some of the most prevalent names in horse racing.
Since they sold their part of United, Magnier has transformed Coolmore into the multi-billion-pound operation that it is today, and McManus has had multiple Grand National winners, including Minella Times, ridden by Rachel Blackmore.
They’ve not done too badly for themselves, then, Magnier is perhaps the most influential man in horse racing and being worldwide, and McManus has spearheaded horses to victories at most major horse racing events in the UK.
It was, in fact, a horse that first revealed the cracks that were showing between the pair and Manchester United, as legal action was struck up over the ownership of a certain horse.
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Rock of Gibraltar was that horse and the man who disputed his ownership of the champion stallion, Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie inherited his love for horse racing from his father and received a huge £500k prize after his horse Spirit Dancer was victorious in Bahrain in November this year.
The rift opened up in 2001 when Ferguson had a conversation with Magnier in which he believed he owned half of Rock of Gibraltar- worth roughly £50million at the time.
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The dispute was eventually settled out of court, but the damage was done, and the owner-manager relationship became tainted. Malcolm Glazer’s offer to the pair in May 2005 was one that, if it were not for the immovable Sir Alex, they might not have taken. But, the squabble over a racehorse had perhaps left a sour taste in the mouth of both Magnier and McManus, and the deal was done.
A very different picture of Manchester United Football Club could have been painted if the two horse racing magnates remained involved, and their pockets might’ve thanked them too.
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John Magnier and JP McManus' stake in Manchester United left their pockets for a profit of £110million in 2005 – and given the value of the club now, you'd have thought that wasn't a great decision.
That is the highest it has been since 2010 when the Glazers carried out a major restructuring of the club's finances in order to bring the cost of their borrowing under control, and is up from £636m at the end of the 2021-22 season.
The Independent reported that the Glazers could look to sell all of their shares for around $6 billion (£4.9bn). That would far outstrip the figure paid for Chelsea, perhaps accurately reflecting Manchester United's status as England's most prestigious football club.
Even before the Glazers bought United, they encountered hostility from the club's supporters who were angered by the prospect of the team, previously debt-free and incredibly successful, being forced into a huge level of debt.
What does the Glazer family own? Glazer's six children — Avram, Bryan, Darcie, Edward, Joel, and Kevin — own United after he acquired the bulk of the club's shares through the investment firm Red Football Ltd in 2005.
INEOS and Ratcliffe are the largest single shareholders at Manchester United. What now? With the strategic review complete and Sir Jim Ratcliffe taking a 29% stake, where does the club go from here? In November 2022, the Glazer family announced a “strategic review” into their ownership of Manchester United.
According to Forbes, the Glazer family are worth a combined £3.6bn. Man Utd's worth is a significant chunk of that, with the £700 million-plus deal worth over six-times that amount as of 2023.
The document states: “For so long as the Glazer parties are the majority holder, following the date that is 18 months after the closing date and in connection with any sale of the entire company, the Company Board may require the Trawlers party to sell all of their company ordinary shares and take such other actions as ...
The latest figures showed United's gross debt currently stands at more than $990 million, which includes the long-standing debt of $650 million and 266.8 million pounds ($341 million) as part of the club's revolving credit facility.
In the last seven years, they have collected £166m in dividends. If you count the £465m the Glazers have received in selling Class A shares, none of which has been reinvested in the club, the total amount the family has taken out of United stands at more than £1.6bn.
The final purchase price of the club totalled almost £800 million. Most of the capital used by Glazer to purchase Manchester United came in the form of loans, the majority of which were secured against the club's assets, incurring interest payments of over £60 million per annum.
Manchester United: Sir Jim Ratcliffe's £1.25bn deal for 27.7% stake is completed. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's deal to buy a 27.7% stake in Manchester United has been completed. The British billionaire's investment is worth about $1.6bn (£1.25bn).
The Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and British industrialist Ratcliffe have made bids which value United at about £5bn, but the Glazers have been holding out for higher offers.
Captain Harry Stafford found four local businessmen, including John Henry Davies (who became club president), each willing to invest £500 in return for a direct interest in running the club and who subsequently changed the name; on 24 April 1902, Manchester United was officially born.
Glazer took full control of United in June 2005, but the deal was hugely unpopular because it was financed primarily through loans secured against the club's assets. The nature of the £790m takeover, known as a leveraged buyout, loaded United with a debt of £525m.
Glazer obtained the watch repair concession at the Sampson Air Force Base. When the base closed in 1956, he expanded into real estate investing in single-family homes, duplexes and commercial buildings in Rochester, eventually owning commercial real estate across America.
Edwards stepped down as Manchester United's chief executive in 2000, selling his final tranche of shares. "I'd given my life to United and missed out on a lot of home life. My children had grown up and married. "I hadn't devoted enough time to home life.
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