Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, who was instrumental in the formation of the Premier League, believes the Glazers might have put Manchester United up for sale because the European Super League proposal is now dead in the water.
The Glazers announced last month they were 'exploring strategic opportunities' for the club, which could include selling it. The American family are majority shareholders at Old Trafford and fans have protested against their ownership for years.
Those protests against the Glazers hit a boiling point in April 2021, when it was revealed United had agreed to join the Super League, which was essentially a closed-shop division, compromised of 12 founding members of elite European clubs.
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There were unprecedented protests against the Super League proposal, leading to the postponement of United's match against Liverpool, and the Glazers subsequently admitted 'they had got it wrong' and withdrew from the project.
Now, more than 18 months after the proposal collapsed, the European Court of Justice has ruled to block the creation of the Super League and former Arsenal vice-chairman Dein believes that might have influenced the Glazers to sell United.
"I was very worried about the Super League. That was the owners not reading the tea leaves properly," Dein told The Times "They got the wrong message, and that clearly was driven by owners thinking that there was a holy grail out there [of a closed shop and increased revenue], and that probably promoted the sale of Liverpool and Manchester United.
"They’ve got a different dynamic in the States. They have a sterile league and they can move franchises around from city to city. We’re not like that. We are passionate about our clubs. It’s club football that means so much and has to be protected."
"When I joined Arsenal, the people buying were local businessmen investing in their club and then it changed, they became millionaires [buying], then billionaires, and it will change again and become sovereign states."
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