Malcolm Glazer, the American billionaire owner of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has reportedly bought a 2.9 percent stake in Manchester United for more than US$14 million.
Manchester United, the world's most popular soccer club, is already linked to an American professional sports team -- the New York Yankees, the world's most popular baseball team.
The English club, which enjoys a worldwide fan base estimated to be more than 50 million strong, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, Glazer's US$14.16 million purchase did not have to be declared to the Stock Exchange because it was less than 3 percent.
Glazer could not immediately be reached for comment yesterday and did not return messages.
Manchester United, which dominated English soccer in the 1990s and won the European Champions Cup in 1999, is facing its second straight season without a trophy.
The Red Devils have qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals, but they lost to Liverpool in the English League Cup final on Sunday, trail defending champion Arsenal by eight points in the Premier League and have been eliminated from the FA Cup.
Glazer, who transformed the Buccaneers from a perennial loser into a champion, bought the American football team in 1995 for US$192 million, a value that has at least tripled.
The Bucs beat the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in the Super Bowl.
Glazer made his money in a
variety of ways, starting at age 15 when he took over the family watch business after his father died. Now he runs First Allied Corp, a conglomerate of businesses with an estimated worth of US$1.5 billion.
Another foreign billionaire, Dutch television tycoon John de Mol, has reportedly bought 2.92 percent of Manchester United, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Manchester United is expected to open a four-city US exhibition tour in Seattle this summer.
The team will also play in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and in the New York-New Jersey area and is expected to be joined by Italian powerhouse Juventus and Scottish champion Glasgow Celtic.
The Yankees and Red Devils allied themselves about two years ago, agreeing to work together with sponsors and sell each other's licensed goods. Manchester United has a third link to the US -- athletic apparel giant Nike is the team's sportswear provider.
RSS