Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer has reportedly failed in a bid to buy American women’s team Angel City. Glazer and his five siblings retain a majority stake at United but it is claimed that he attempted to buy another club.
The Glazer siblings diluted their shares in the Premier League club by selling a 27.7 per cent stake to petrochemicals company INEOS in February. Avram has reportedly looked at expanding his sporting portfolio.
According to The Athletic, Glazer attempted to become the controlling shareholder of Angel City, a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) outfit that began playing in 2022. However, the 63-year-old is claimed to have failed in his pursuit.
Glazer has missed out on the purchase to Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay. The couple are reportedly now in advanced talks over a takeover. Angel City was co-founded by Kara Nortman, Natalie Portman and Julie Uhrman, and has a cohort of celebrity investors.
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The Glazers already own NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers while Avram personally has a controlling stake in the International League T20 team the Desert Vipers.
Glazer’s interest in buying a women’s soccer team may hint that he sees value in the growing women’s game. It comes with United facing criticism for their treatment of their women’s team, who play in the WSL.
United’s women’s team, who finished fifth last season, are reportedly expected to be asked to use portacabins at the club’s Carrington training base next season. It will allow for the men’s team to use the £11million facilities that had been built for the women’s team and academy while a redevelopment of the venue takes place.
The Glazers have effectively outsourced United’s football operations to INEOS, which is likely to include the running of the women’s team. Last week, INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe said there were no detailed plans for the women’s team, and referred to the men’s team as the club’s ‘first-team’.
“We haven’t got into that level of detail with the women’s team yet,” the British billionaire told Bloomberg.
“We’ve been pretty much focused on how we resolve the first-team issues in that environment and that’s been pretty full-time for the first six months.”
The Glazers did not run a women’s team at United between 2005 and 2018. In the summer of 2021, it is claimed that the women’s team approached the Professional Footballers’ Association to seek support in improving their facilities.
