Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has reportedly given up in his bid to buy Manchester United in a £4billion takeover.
The Glazer family, who currently own the club, have flatly refused his attempts to purchase the Red Devils, despite the huge sum on offer.
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The Glazers would have made a huge profit if they had accepted the offer
It’s also believed the Glazers now wish to take a more ‘hands-on approach’ at running Man United following their fall from grace in recent seasons.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, they have failed to progress with a string of managers failing to fill the boots of the Scottish legend.
There have been failures in the transfer market too, with expensive flops like Fred and the inability to land required defensive improvements, which now sees them with just two clean sheets at Old Trafford all season.
So the idea of a more ‘hands-on’ ownership will either be a blessing or a curse for the Premier League giants with many supporters deeply unhappy at their tenure and the huge amounts of money they have withdrawn from United.
But where do the Glazers rank when compared with the owners of England’s 19 other top flight clubs?
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20. Mike Ashley (Newcastle United)
Newcastle, once again, have retained a place in the Premier League but it’s mainly in spite of owner Ashley. Ill feeling towards him has not lessened, even with the purse strings loosened to sign Miguel Almiron.
Most praise for top-flight survival goes to manager Rafa Benitez but there are still doubts as to whether the Spaniard will remain at St James’ Park if Ashley does not sell the club.
Amanda Staveley looked set to buy Newcastle but Ashley ended talks and a group involving Peter Kenyon has also been in talks, with no resulting action. Fans can’t wait to see the back of him.
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19. Stan Kroenke (Arsenal)
Getting rid of Arsene Wenger after 22 years was the only thing Kroenke could do to ease the increasing pressure on his head last summer. There were almost consistent protests against him throughout the 2017/18 season, and replacing Wenger with Unai Emery was as much about saving himself as helping Arsenal out.
He backed Emery in the transfer market but despite a top four battle and a Europa League semi-final there is still plenty of work to be done at the Emirates. Kroenke will take all the criticism should it not work out and it seems this summer’s transfer budget will have to be supplemented by sales. The loss of Aaron Ramsey on a free transfer to Juventus also reflects badly on the ownership.
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18. David Sullivan and David Gold (West Ham United)
Sullivan and Gold may have been the two most hated men in east London last season, but their work over the summer helped lessen some of the pressure on the pair.
Hiring Manuel Pellegrini as manager and making big-money moves for star players have improved the Hammers, though a poor start did restore pressure on Sullivan and Gold for a short while.
Many issues, created by Sullivan and Gold, remain in the memory – the move from Upton Park to the London Stadium, the hiring of David Moyes, and the ‘Dildo brothers’ affair, so they still need to play it careful.
The Hammers’ stadium issues will see them mocked for a long time, with Spurs fans gloating from their new £1billion pad, which has now hosted a Champions League semi-final. They do have a new claret carpet though, so that’s nice.
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17. Farhad Moshiri (Everton)
If you could use only one word to describe Moshiri’s time in charge of Everton, it would be ‘tumultuous’.
In almost three years of Moshiri’s ownership, Everton have had three permanent managers – Marco Silva is the latest – as well as one interim boss, they’ve spent a load in the transfer market with hardly any returns on the pitch, and fan support for the Iranian has dwindled.
This season has seen good times and bad for Moshiri and Everton, if the Toffees can build on their 4-0 victory over Manchester United they have the potential to get back among the big hitters.
Moshiri’s biggest impact since arriving on Merseyside was securing the deal for Everton to buy Bramley-Moore Dock for a new stadium.
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16. The Glazer family (Manchester United)
The Glazer family have never been the most liked owners in the Premier League, despite the incredible success Man United enjoyed in the first seven years of their tenure under manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Since his retirement, things have been harder for the Glazers, although fan acceptance of the American family has increased. They have begun to pump money into the football side of the club, having historically been quite restricted with their spending, but the return on their investment has been minimal, with no Premier League title won since Ferguson stepped down.
Fans are starting to appreciate just how much money has been put in to the club recently with huge sums spent on transfers. They do seem to have painted themselves into a corner with the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and it could blow up in their faces. Waiting until the end of the season would have been the wisest move.
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15. Shahid Khan (Fulham)
Khan’s first season as Fulham owner coincided with the club going through three managers and getting relegated from the Premier League. A few years in the wilderness of the Championship saw Khan stabilise the side, before the appointment of Slavisa Jokanovic as manager in December 2015.
The following year (2016/17) Fulham made it to the play-offs, before going one better last season by winning promotion to the Premier League. In the summer it looked like Khan has helped build one of the most exciting squads in English football but they flopped with their defence a shambles.
Jokanovic was ditched, Claudio Ranieri hired then fired, and now Scott Parker, on a caretaker basis, is providing food for thought as he hunts a permanent boss. Already relegated he needs to stabilise the club once more.
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14. Vincent Tan (Cardiff City)
Tan has righted many of the wrongs he made upon first taking control of Cardiff, reverting back to the club’s blue badge and strip after his ill-fated experiment with red.
He has since endured a rather rocky time in the Championship, before hiring Neil Warnock, who helped Cardiff back to the Premier League by finishing runners-up in the second tier.
Tan tried to back Warnock in the transfer market, but they were sadly struck by the death of new signing Emiliano Sala in January.
The Bluebirds have tried to be smart with money so their struggles have been understood and it is, in fact, impressive they aren’t already condemned to the Championship.
Whether they stay up or go down, if Tan invests wisely the future should be okay for with Welsh side.
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13. Steve Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer (Crystal Palace)
Parish’s reign in charge of Palace has seen the Eagles rise to the Premier League and establish themselves as a top flight club.
The appointment of Frank de Boer as manager was a mistake, but Parish has shown faith in Roy Hodgson after his failures with England and has been rewarded with stability.
They haven’t been the greatest movers in the the transfer market, although they may now keep Wilfried Zaha thanks to the way his value has risen, beyond the means of other sides.
Palace are now up for sale, according to reports, and their legacy may well be decided by who takes over in the long-term.
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12. Gao Jisheng (Southampton)
Jisheng bought an 80 per cent stake in Southampton last August, and his reign had been a rough ride. The club lost their best player – Virgil van Dijk – sacked a manager – Mauricio Pellegrino – and were almost relegated to the Championship.
The decision to keep Mark Hughes, though, proved to be foolish and short-termist. Now, though, the smart acquisition of Ralph Hasenhuttl seems to have the Saints back on track with several players reinvigorated. A big summer is ahead.
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11. Maxim Demin (Bournemouth)
Demin’s biggest strength as owner of Bournemouth is his ability to stay behind the scenes, injecting money to keep the Cherries’ fairy tale appear as just that – a fairy tale.
He has been instrumental to Bournemouth’s recent successes, but it is not just Demin’s money that has played a role. The Russian has shown the kind of faith in manager Eddie Howe that is hardly expected in modern football, and he’s been wildly rewarded.
Unfortunately, plans for a new stadium have been delayed, and if playing assets aren’t protected this summer they could find themselves in trouble next season.
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10. Dean Hoyle (Huddersfield Town)
Huddersfield fan Hoyle became the club’s majority shareholder in 2009. He helped his team win promotion to the Premier League – despite their status as one of the relegation favourites in 2016/17 – and kept them in the top flight by breaking the club’s transfer record various times.
Hoyle also showed incredible foresight and trust when hiring David Wagner as Huddersfield’s manager in 2015, seeing as Wagner’s only previous post was with Borussia Dortmund’s reserve team but eventually, after a poor season which has resulted in relegation, the two parties have gone their separate ways.
Hoyle has been smart with money and it should set the club up for a decent crack at promotion next season, and their coffers look set to be bolstered by the sales of Philip Billing and Aaron Mooy.
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9. Roman Abramovich (Chelsea)
Abramovich’s tenure at Chelsea has been filled with success, with 15 major trophies won in 15 years. However, things have been harder for the Blues recently, with Abramovich choosing to put stadium redevelopment plans on hold, and starting to restrict his spending in the transfer market.
Chelsea may, though, now fall further behind their rivals, with a transfer ban on the horizon, although the signing of Christian Pulisic was at least good forward thinking.
Thankfully, his insistence on a good youth academy is bearing fruit with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek regulars now and several others starring out on loan and possibly ready for a step up.
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8. The Srivaddhanaprabha Family (Leicester City)
The Srivaddhanaprabha family, now led by 33-year-old Aiyawatt following the untimely death of his father Vichai earlier in the season, will go down in Leicester history as the people who helped the Foxes complete that most miraculous of sporting feats to win the 2015/16 Premier League.
They purchased the club in 2010, and helped them win promotion to the top flight in May 2014. On the day they reached the Premier League, Srivaddhanaprabha promised he would invest enough in the club to make them a top-five team within three years. It took just two for the Foxes to win the whole thing.
Since then, the club suffered a dip with managerial changes, poor performances, and fan discontent. Keeping Claude Puel as manager was not well greeted by supporters, but they’ve been smart in the transfer market and have helped build a young and talented squad.
If they can keep them together they could challenge the top six next season.
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7. Tony Bloom (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Many would have panicked in the same situation but Bloom, a fan of the club he owns, has held firm and stuck by manager Chris Hughton despite their struggles this season.
Brighton won promotion to the Premier League for the first ever time under Bloom, the local born poker player, and he seems keen on doing things in a considered manner, even with summer transfers not quite working out despite big fees.
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6. ENIC International (Tottenham Hotspur)
Spurs’ brand spanking new stadium and £1billion infrastructure overhaul has got them set for the long-term and it’s all thanks to ENIC and Daniel Levy.
Spurs’ recent rise under manager Mauricio Pochettino has been one of the best stories in English football, based on home-grown starlets and exceptional foreign imports.
Pochettino has bought into the project, which helps greatly, especially as the club dawdle in the transfer market.
This financial caution, though, has seen a team mature together and reach a Champions League semi-final.
Some supporters have consistently criticised the owners, especially during stadium delays, but when all is considered this is really just hypercritical.
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5. Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz (Burnley)
Some of the smartest owners in the Premier League, Burnley’s entire approach to the sport is about stability and consistency to achieve success.
Manager Sean Dyche has been shown incredible faith, even after a relegation from the Premier League in 2015, and he guided the Clarets back to the top flight and into Europe for the first time in 51 years.
Their Europa League campaign didn’t go to plan and they suffered a big dip in form but Dyche has weathered the storm without too much interference and Burnley are now safe for another season.
This success has been achieved on a meagre budget, with much of the money made since Burnley’s rise to the top flight being invested in the club’s infrastructure to ensure the Clarets’ long-term survival.
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4. Gino Pozzo (Watford)
It took three seasons from the Pozzo family buying Watford before the club won promotion to the Premier League, and since then they’ve established themselves in the top flight. Gino is now sole owner of the Hornets, and he runs a well-oiled machine at Vicarage Road.
This season Javi Gracia became Watford’s longest serving manager in the Premier League, and he has been backed to great success with the Hornets reaching their first FA Cup final since 1984 – and just their second ever.
This is the club’s best period since the club’s heyday under Graham Taylor in the 1980s, and Pozzo continues to invest both on and off the pitch, securing big-money signings, improving the club’s training ground, and expanding the stadium to keep the fans flocking to Vicarage Road.
A statue erected earlier this season to pay tribute to Taylor following his untimely death further strengthened the bond between Pozzo and the Watford faithful.
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3. Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Manchester City)
Since Sheikh Mansour purchased Man City, through the Abu Dhabi United Group, in 2008, the Etihad Stadium club have become a giant of European football.
The biggest prize – the Champions League – continues to elude City, but they have won all there is to win in English football – including the most recent Premier League by a record 100 points.
Mansour managed to secure the services of perhaps football’s most sought after manager, Pep Guardiola, and he’s spent the money required to bring some of the best players to the Etihad.
If they continue on this trajectory, it surely won’t be long until Man City win that long-awaited European Cup. They do face a difficult summer though with some players seeking pastures new, which will mean an important transfer window is coming up.
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2. John W. Henry (Liverpool)
After a shaky start to life at Liverpool, Henry has established himself as one of the best owners in the Premier League. His appointment of Jurgen Klopp in 2015 as the club’s manager was excellent and he has backed him completely in the transfer market. This has seen Liverpool return to consistent top four finishes, and reach last season’s Champions League final.
Most impressively, however, is that reaching the final was not seen as the pinnacle. Henry and Klopp have used this as a springboard and are on the brink of the club’s best ever season, which could see them claim a Premier League/Champions League double.
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1. Fosun International (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Fosun International, owned by Guo Guangchang, bought Wolves in the summer of 2016 and have taken them to the brink of European football in their first season back in the Premier League.
With the day-to-day running of the club left to Jeff Shi (pictured above, right), and with help from super-agent Jorge Mendes – who has no official title at the club – Wolves romped to the Championship title last season to secure a return to the top flight.
They made some of the greatest signings ever seen in the Championship, and bought a host of top class players for the current Premier League campaign who have performed excellently.
Given what they have done for Wolves so far, many expect Fosun to keep investing in the Molineux club to make them one of the best teams in England, while youngster Morgan Gibbs-White shows they’re keen to produce young talents, too.
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