Technology giants Apple have expressed interest in buying Manchester United in a stunning £5.8billion deal. It is all but certain that hat the Glazers have decided to put the Red Devils up for sale, 17 years after the American family brought the club. The Red Devils announced in a statement that the Glazers were exploring "strategic alternatives" and it is understood they will sell to the highest bidder. Apple are the largest tech company in the world with an annual revenue of almost £326billion but have no experience of owning a football club the size of United.However, CEO Tim Cook is keen to explore the opportunities owning United could provide - and will line up talks with the banks appointed to oversee the sale, which include The Raine Group.
CEO Tim Cook is keen to explore the opportunity of owning a football club and has plans to build a new state-of-the-art stadium that would be regarded as the best in the world. The Glazers had initially set an asking price of £8.25billion but have been told this is unrealistic in the current market.If Apple were to complete a deal it would make United the richest club in the world. The Glazers will spend the next month talking to interested parties before drawing up a shortlist of potential buyers, which is expected to include British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.Nicknamed the Red Devils, it was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. The club moved from Newton Heath to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910.Manchester United have won a record 20 League titles, 12 FA Cups, five League Cups, and a record 21 FA Community Shields. They have won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League three times, and the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup once each