Manchester United have turned things around with three straight league wins. Now it’s time for a change of scenery.
Goals from Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial led the Red Devils to a 3-0 victory over Everton in the 13th round of the 2023-2024 Premier League (EPL) at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, on Sunday.
The win leaves United in sixth place in the league table with a record of 8 W, 5 D, and 24 points, six points behind leaders Arsenal FC. Three straight league wins.
United got off to a dismal start this season. After a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening day of the season, they have only won two and lost three through five rounds. In the UEFA Champions League, they’re currently bottom of their group with a 1-3 record.
They suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat against local rivals Manchester City last month, and also suffered an early exit in the Carabao Cup round of 16 against Newcastle United, losing 0-3. It was the first home defeat by three goals in 41 years since October 1962, and the first five defeats in 10 home games in 93 years since the 1930-1931 season.
Recently, however, they’ve managed to turn things around somewhat. They won 1-0 at Fulham FC thanks to a second-half theater goal from Bruno Fernandes and 1-0 at home to Luton Town. On the 27th, they cruised to a 3-0 win at Everton.
After the turnaround, there was more good news for United. A change of ownership. The current owners are Joel and Abram Glazer of the Glazer family. The Glazers took over in 2014 after the death of their father, Melcom Glazer.
They had no interest in soccer and were busy lining their own pockets by using United as a vehicle for commercial gain. In February, Sheikh Jassim offered to buy the club outright, but kept increasing his bid. When Jassim finally dropped out of the race on March 14, United fans were furious.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was the only one left in the race to take over, but now it looks like Manchester United fans have one less thing to worry about. ”A formal agreement is expected between Lord Ratcliffe and the Glazer family to acquire a 25 percent minority stake in the club,” European soccer transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano said on Sunday.
As soon as Lord Ratcliffe acquires the 25% minority stake in the club, the Glazers will no longer be able to intervene in the football operations. Once at the helm, Ratcliffe can quickly make changes to the team. ”Sir Ratcliffe will bring in a new CEO,” Romano said.
The leading candidate for the new CEO is Jean-Claude Blanc. ”Blanc has the idea of bringing in new people and reorganizing the process to manage the transfer market to buy and sell players, and so does Sir Ratcliffe,” Romano said. He’s been called the Lionel Messi of sports business after spending time at Juventus and PSG.
“All matters relating to the acquisition are on track,” Romano said, noting that “Sir Ratcliffe will become a new 25% minority shareholder in the club.” The Glazer family’s departure from the club’s soccer operations is likely to alleviate some of the frustration among United fans.