• Manchester United supporters have rejoiced at the news that the Glazer family is willing to sell the team after having a tense relationship with them for 17 years
• However, Liverpool’s owners, the Fenway Sports Group, are also looking to sell some or all of their ownership of the six-time European champions
• Making them another venerable English club that is currently on the market

The two most successful clubs in English football history are both available for sale, as AFP Sport examines:

Super League impasse

The failed attempt at a split-off European Super League in 2021, which quickly collapsed after a vehement outcry from supporters, governing organisations, and politicians, was orchestrated by the Glazers and FSG.

A group of 12 top European clubs planned to establish a closed league with no promotion or relegation and no need to qualify annually like they do now for the Champions League.

The goal was to increase revenue through more assured matches against elite competition while minimising expenses in an effort to make teams significantly more lucrative.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Juventus are suing each other in an effort to launch the Super League.

However, given the vehement resistance to the initiative still present in England, any Premier League owner would be foolish to take this course.

Newcastle danger

The money United and Liverpool make from the Champions League is more more important without a Super League.

However, the ascent of Newcastle under the ownership of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is expected to pose an increasing threat to their position at the top table of European football.

United and Liverpool aren’t in the top four when the Premier League takes a midseason break for the World Cup.

Newcastle are currently in third place just over a year into the new era.

Since Manchester City, sponsored by Abu Dhabi, has supplanted their longtime rivals to become the dominating power in English football during the past ten years, both clubs have already felt the pain of state wealth.

United missed out on the Champions League this season for the fourth time in ten years.

Because of the turnaround in the Reds’ fortunes under coach Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool is participating in the competition for the sixth straight year.

But before that run, Liverpool had only made it to the Champions League once every seven years.

Chelsea’s cost of sale

Chelsea fetched a record price for a football club of £2.5 billion ($3 billion) in May thanks to a bidding war, despite a fire sale brought on by Roman Abramovich’s punishment for his ties to the Kremlin.

It is significant that United’s owners have chosen Raine, the bank that handled the sale of Chelsea, to oversee the search for new funding.

Despite being headquartered in the north-west of England as opposed to London, United and Liverpool should command a greater premium due to their more illustrious histories than the Blues and their wider global fan bases.

According to analysts, United may fetch up to £5 billion for the club that the Glazers paid £790 million for through a leveraged takeover.

FSG is expected to receive a ten-fold return on the $300 million they invested in purchasing Liverpool in 2010.

The economy is changing.

Carrying debt has become much more difficult as interest rates climb in an effort to reduce inflation globally.

In the 2021/22 season, United’s net borrowings increased to £515 million.

In their announcement requesting investment, the Glazers also acknowledged the requirement for significant capital expenditures on Old Trafford’s renovation.

During FSG’s tenure, Liverpool is undergoing a second stadium expansion, with an £80 million redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand.

On the field, Liverpool supporters are also pleading for new players after an ageing squad’s drastic decline in performance this season.

The Glazers and FSG appear to have concluded that now is the moment to cash out because financing is currently far more expensive than it has been for the majority of their time in English football.

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