The Glazers have owned Manchester United since 2005, but they could never have had a hand at Old Trafford without the help of a race horse.
The European Super League scandal left the Glazers under pressure to sell Manchester United. British media reported that the Glazers wanted to sell Manchester United for £ 4 billion. But how did the American tycoon family buy Manchester United in 2005? The above story is related to the ownership dispute of the famous racing horse Rock Of Gibraltar between MU legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson and a woman named Susan Magnier, wife of former MU shareholder, John Magnier. Sir Alex Ferguson is a celebrity who is passionate about racing horses. Rock Of Gibraltar is a true “grass star”. It has won 10 out of 12 races and amassed £ 1,164,804 in prize money after 2 seasons. 
Sir Alex Ferguson has an unending passion for racing horses. PHOTO: DAILY STAR But after the Rock Of Gibraltar “retired”, there was a dispute over ownership of the horse. That indirectly saw Magnier and partner JP McManus sell their stakes in MU to the Glazers. Accordingly, Sir Alex Ferguson believes that he has ownership “half” of this horse. Meanwhile, owner of the world’s largest purebred racehorse Coolmore, Magnier and McManus disagree. On 17 November 2003, a statement made on Magnier’s behalf read, “Coolmore Stud was informed that Sir Alex Ferguson had taken legal action against Mr. John Magnier regarding the ownership of the horse. Rock of Gibraltar. Coolmore Stud and John Magnier consider this action in vain and will strongly defend “. 
John Magnier is a major shareholder of Manchester United … PHOTO: DAILY STAR A horse dispute is one thing, but that dispute involving coaches and strategic shareholders of the same club as MU is another story. In 2004, Magnier and McManus submitted a list of their 99 “notorious” questions to the Old Trafford team to seek information about the financial situation as well as the MU transfer deal. They even threatened to “take action” to MU if they did not receive a satisfactory answer. Former MU captain Roy Keane revealed in his autobiography “The Second Half” that he had advised Sir Alex Ferguson to give up the dispute but to no avail. Roy Keane writes in his autobiography, “Someone I met in Ireland told me, tell him (Ferguson),” he will never win this. ” I mentioned that to Sir Alex Ferguson. I told him I don’t think it’s good for the club, for the coach in legal disputes with shareholders. I feel like I have a right to say that. 
… with McManus. PHOTO: DAILY STAR With all that going on, Magnier and McManus began increasing their stake in United through their own company Cubic Expression. Meanwhile, Sir Alex was forced to beg MU fans not to hold protests against the duo Magnier and McManus at the 2004 Cheltenham festival. At the time, Fergie said, “Cheltenham was a classic festival on the Nationak Hunt racing calendar, where people from all over the world and all walks of life gathered to enjoy the race. It’s actually the equivalent of an FA Cup final for a horse racing fan. I do not want this festival to “perish” in any way. Therefore, I ask supporters to refrain from all forms of demonstrations and strongly oppose acts of violence, illegal or disruptive behavior that can create a bad image of the club and MU fans in general. During that Scandal, Malcolm Galzer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team, watched the situation closely. Malcolm Galzer has acquired stakes in Manchester United since March 2003, starting at 2.9% and then gradually increasing to 3.17%, 8.93%, 15%, 16.31%, 19%. and nearly 30% in October 2004. 
MU fans protested against the Glazers to buy MU. PHOTO: DAILY STAR Then, Malcolm Galzer quickly made an offer to Magnier and McManus asking to buy a 28.7% stake in Cubic Expression in May 2005. That offer has been accepted. That is the premise for Malcolm Galzer to own more than 50% of MU shares and then proceed to acquire the club. A month later, Malcolm Glazer completed a 98% acquisition of Manchester United’s stake from £ 800 million to £ 1 billion. MU fans were extremely angry but helplessly watched the Glazers officially take over Manchester United. But how was the Rock Of Gibraltar race horse dispute resolved in the end? In March 2004, Sir Alex received a one-time £ 2.5 million payment to end the war. Sir Alex Ferguson later mentioned the story in his autobiography published in 2013. 
Joel Glazer, Avram Glazer and Bryan Glazer were the three sons of Malcolm Glazer at Old Trafford in 2005. Photo: GETTY Sir Alex Ferguson writes in his autobiography, “Rock Of Gibraltar is a wonderful horse. It became the first horse in the Northern Hemisphere to win seven consecutive group 1 races, beating the Mill Reef record. Rock Of Gibraltar is registered to play for my team under the agreement I signed with Coolmore in Ireland. I understand that I have half ownership of the horse, I will also get half the bonus. Everything was then resolved. The issue ended when we reached an agreement and agreed that there was a misunderstanding between the two sides. Apparently, there was a potential conflict between my hobby of horse racing and my possession of the MU club when a man stood up at the AGM and insisted on me to resign. I am very awkward. I must say, there has never been a time when I have been fired from my duties as the head coach of Manchester United. I have an excellent lawyer at Les Dalgarno and he takes care of the situation on my behalf. It doesn’t affect my love of race horses. I am on a good relationship with John Magnier, the leading figure at Coolmore.
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