Who Owns Manchester United?

Manchester United is still owned by the Glazer family, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe holding a minority stake and running football operations. Companies House lists five people or entities with significant control of the club: Joel, Avram and Bryan Glazer, Ratcliffe since 19 February 2024, and Manchester United Limited holding 75% or more of the shares. Ratcliffe’s arrival added a controller without removing one. Ownership verified 6 September 2026.

Who owns Manchester United?

The club is Manchester United Football Club Limited (00095489), incorporated 31 October 1907 and registered at Old Trafford. Its registered shareholder-controller is Manchester United Limited (2570509) at 75% or more.

Above and alongside that, four individuals are recorded as exercising significant influence or control — which is a different PSC condition from owning shares, and the distinction is the whole story here.

Current owners and shareholding structure

The five active entries on the club’s PSC register:

• Manchester United Limited (2570509) — ownership of shares, 75% or more, since 6 April 2016
• Joel Glazer — significant influence or control, United States, since 6 April 2016
• Avram Glazer — significant influence or control, United States, since 6 April 2016
• Bryan Glazer — significant influence or control, United States, since 6 April 2016
• Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe — significant influence or control, Monaco, since 19 February 2024

Only one entry records share ownership. The four individuals are registered under influence or control, without a shareholding band — the condition used where someone can direct a company without holding the shares directly, or holds them through structures above.

Manchester United is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with Class A shares held by public investors and Class B shares carrying enhanced votes held by the Glazers. That dual-class structure is why a family holding a minority of the economics has retained control since the flotation.

Key controlling people and entities

Ratcliffe, through INEOS, acquired a minority stake reported at around a quarter of the club in early 2024 and took responsibility for football operations. His PSC entry dates from 19 February 2024.

The important detail is what did not happen: no Glazer entry ceased. All three remain active controllers. A minority investment that hands over sporting control does not transfer ownership, and the register shows exactly that — a fifth controller added to four existing ones.

The ceased entries are executives rather than owners: Ed Woodward (to 27 September 2022), Richard Arnold (to 8 December 2023) and Patrick Stewart (to 30 June 2024) — successive chief executives and an interim, each recorded while in post. That is worth knowing before reading any PSC entry as evidence of ownership: senior executives can appear under the influence-or-control condition purely by virtue of their role.

Ownership history

Manchester United was a public company on the London Stock Exchange until Malcolm Glazer acquired it in 2005 in a leveraged buyout that loaded the club with debt — the origin of two decades of supporter opposition. The club relisted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012 with the dual-class structure that preserved family control.

A protracted sale process from 2022 attracted bids for the whole club, and concluded instead with Ratcliffe’s minority investment completing in February 2024. The Glazers did not sell.

Related clubs or investment group

Ratcliffe’s INEOS holds interests in other sporting assets, including Nice in France and cycling and sailing teams. Common ownership across clubs is constrained by competition rules restricting clubs under the same control from meeting in the same European tournament, which has been a live consideration for the INEOS holdings.

The Glazer family separately owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, held independently of Manchester United.

Sources and verification

All five active PSC entries, the three ceased executive entries and their dates come from the Companies House register for company 00095489.

Two limits. The register records nature of control, not percentages, so Ratcliffe’s reported stake of around a quarter is not a register figure. And because the club is US-listed, the share-class split and the family’s precise economic holding are disclosed through SEC filings rather than Companies House. Companies House does not verify most filed information.