Man United Stakeholder Sells Shares, Ratcliffe Makes Stadium Decision

There’s another plot twist in the Manchester United sales saga.

As British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe looks to acquire 25% of the club and take control of soccer operations from the Glazer family, a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission on Monday shows that Chicago-based Ariel Investments continues to shed its stake in the iconic Premier League Club.

The filing shows that Ariel reduced its position by 831,000 shares, or 13%, during the third quarter of this year. Ariel now holds nearly 5.7 million shares and is the club’s second-largest institutional shareholder behind British investment management company Lindsell Train.

Ariel has been invested in Manchester United for more than two years, and its holding reached 12.3 million shares in March 2022. Soon after, though, it began to reduce its stake, accelerating that strategy last year when the Glazers said they would consider strategic alternatives for the club — including a potential sale or new investment. 

The club recently reported a Premier League-record $783 million in annual revenue. 

No New Stadium

Ratcliffe has ruled out seeking a new stadium for the club — a trend seen in several new facility efforts throughout the Premier League — and will instead look to upgrade 113-year-old Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe intends to spend $300 million of his own money on immediate stadium improvements. He has also said he will not pursue naming rights for the revered facility, saying “that would be heresy. I would not change it. It’s always Old Trafford.”