Untold United Volume 4 portrays Glazer era as drain; Ratcliffe takes charge of football operations

Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family, and former chief executive Ed Woodward are portrayed in Untold United: Volume 4 as having prioritized financial engineering over football decisions, producing a long-running drain on the club that critics say has outpaced the gains on the pitch. The volume frames the figure of roughly £1.2 billion as money siphoned from United’s balance sheet toward Florida-based investors, a figure that grows in significance as the club’s performance on the field has failed to match the scale of its ambitions. It also paints a picture of a fractured relationship with fans and a leadership style that, at times, has appeared content to let the club’s brands and revenue streams carry the day. The publication arrives amid questions about whether the ownership group has been willing or able to fund a modern stadium and to finance a competitive sporting project that could restore United to the top tier of European football.

The volume anchors its narrative in the 2005 leveraged buyout, when Bryan Glazer was introduced to a group of English football writers at Hong Kong’s national stadium. The scene is described as uncomfortable for a man who would soon preside over a controversial takeover that would reshape the club’s financial and strategic priorities. A week later, as United’s summer tour moved to China, the same writers observed a different dynamic when they encountered Glazer again on the Great Wall, this time amid a hurried retreat. Two decades on, the authors argue, United fans and the broader press still await meaningful dialogue from the Glazer family, whose approach has repeatedly been characterized by silence and a reluctance to explain the strategy behind decisions that affect the club’s identity and its supporters.

The volume traces how the family’s approach to ownership has been conspicuously different from the Ferguson era. During Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, United won on the field while navigating the Glazer burden, a period that included 10 major trophies between 2005 and 2013, among them five Premier League titles and a Champions League crown. After Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, United’s trophy cabinet grew thinner and the club’s revenue-generating machinery was tuned more aggressively toward commercial deals and asset management than footballing excellence. The authors note that, in the eight years after Ferguson’s departure, United captured two FA Cups, two League Cups, and Jose Mourinho’s Europa League success in 2017, but did not reclaim the consistent domestic dominance or the European supremacy that had defined the club for a generation.

A central thread of Untold United Volume 4 is the transformation of United’s commercial engine under Ed Woodward, who became the Glazer family’s man at Old Trafford after leaving JPMorgan in 2005 for a role described in the book as a powerful commercial position. Woodward built a private office in Mayfair where a large sales operation worked to secure sponsorships across a wide range of products from noodles and scooters to soft drinks and paint. The book describes how the commercial ascent was achieved in parallel with a football department that many insiders believed did not share the same vision or rigor. Woodward’s strength as a deal-maker and his ability to mobilize marketing partnerships were celebrated inside the boardroom, but critics argued that the club’s football decisions—signings, wage structures, and the management of the squad—were not aligned with the need for sporting return. The book recounts that, at times, Woodward was seen as a celebrity-seeker, whose focus on high-profile players and the optics of deals sometimes overshadowed football strategy. The phrase “tone-deaf star f***er” appears in the volume, a description offered by some insiders who argued that the club’s leadership pursued marquee signings and eyeballs over footballing coherence. The narrative emphasizes that what worked in the commercial arena did not necessarily translate into sustained reward on the pitch.

The book details the operational politics that followed Ferguson’s departure. The Glazers and Woodward were portrayed as micro-managers who insisted on direct approval of many transfer moves, a configuration that included Joel Glazer in Florida rubber-stamping deals. The volume notes persistent friction between the ownership group and the football operations, with insiders recounting that the two worlds—finance and football—were not always in sync. The consequence, according to Untold United, was a period in which United’s identity as a footballing powerhouse gradually blurred with a parallel priority of monetization. The so-called Black Box—the private, closely guarded nature of sponsorship and licensing deals—was cited by the authors as emblematic of the era’s strategic opacity. While Woodward is portrayed as a gifted commercial operator who could optimize customer service and matchday experience, the broader evaluation in Volume 4 is that the football side did not benefit proportionally from those commercial gains, contributing to a growing perception that the club’s leadership cared more about branding than the dressing room.

The volume also recounts the internal cultural tensions at United, including the perception among some fans that the club had drifted away from the old model of football-first decision-making. The authors portray a leadership culture that, at times, prioritized the bottom line and the signals it sent to sponsors and media. The impact on staff morale and on supporters’ trust is described through anecdotes about the way information was managed, including the early 2010s shift in how the club circulated press summaries and how a daily ritual of digesting front-page headlines was altered because of the mood within the organization. Critics quoted in the book say this reflected a broader pattern: a club that could be efficient in business terms but remained uncertain when it came to translating commercial success into on-field glory.

The narrative does not shy away from the clashes with managers or the missteps in recruitment. The volume recounts that Jose Mourinho’s expressed desire to move on Anthony Martial stalled at a moment when Florida-based executives were weighing what kind of profile United should sign. The authors describe a dynamic in which football decisions appeared to be a function of perceived social-media engagement and brand reach rather than a clear footballing plan. Several insiders are cited who contend that Joel Glazer wanted to be heavily involved in transfers, sometimes to the detriment of a footballing director’s independence. While some supporters and executives maintain that the Glazers had a legitimate appetite for the global footprint of Manchester United, others argue that the emphasis on optics and growth sometimes overshadowed the core task of sustaining a competitive team.

The book also places United’s ownership saga within the broader context of the club’s facilities and infrastructure. Old Trafford is portrayed as a symbol of the club’s decline: a ground with a leaking roof, aging facilities, and a recognition that significant investment was needed to deliver a stadium worthy of a global brand. That assessment is echoed by current club staff who acknowledge that Old Trafford is not fit to host major international fixtures today and that the stadium’s condition stands in sharp contrast to the modern facilities at rival clubs. The volume notes that, as Euro 2028 is hosted in part by Manchester, questions about United’s ability to host such events in the near term remain a reputational challenge even as the club seeks to upgrade its home. One United employee is quoted as saying the stadium is “out of date” and that repairs, while ongoing, are insufficient to restore the club’s standing with supporters and commercial partners.

In the midst of this, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s involvement has shifted the balance of control over football operations. Ratcliffe, who owns less than a third of the club, has assumed a central role in football decisions in the wake of his investment and leadership over two years. The volume notes that Ratcliffe has begun repairing some of the structural damage at United and that he has signaled a longer-term plan to restore the club’s sporting credibility, including finding the right manager and building a winning squad. Yet the profit motive remains clear: the club’s earnings and assets have remained a key driver of the Glazer family’s strategy, and the publication underscores that any upside for Manchester United will likely flow through the Florida-based ownership structure even as Ratcliffe steers day-to-day football decisions. The book emphasizes that the identity of United—the fans, the city, and the brand—remains tethered to a complex calculus that blends global commercial ambitions with the search for sporting success.

Part of Untold United Volume 4’s most enduring questions concern fans’ trust and whether the Glazers will ever relinquish control. The volume highlights some of the fiercest demonstrations of fan activism in recent memory, including the 2021 green-and-gold protests that briefly interrupted a Premier League match against Liverpool at Old Trafford. The personal toll on Woodward and his family was severe: his four-year-old daughter was knocked over in a melee, and his wife received threats on social media. Those scenes underscored the political and emotional stakes of ownership at a club whose popularity and market power remain extraordinary even in a period of sustained sporting underachievement. The book notes that Woodward, for his part, acknowledged the reality that owners and fans could be misaligned, and that the absence of a Sir Alex Ferguson buffer complicates the club’s ability to navigate crisis—both on and off the field.

Despite the difficulties of the last decade, Manchester United continues to generate substantial revenue. The club recently reported record revenues of £666.5 million for the 2024-25 financial year, a testament to the enduring global reach of a brand that remains among the most recognizable in world sport. The volume does not treat this as a definitive vindication of the Glazer regime; rather, it presents the numbers as evidence that the club can still monetize its assets, even as on-field performance has failed to reach historical highs. In the pages of Volume 4, Ratcliffe’s stewardship is framed as a potential turning point: the task now is to translate commercial momentum into a competitive football operation that can win titles again while safeguarding the club’s financial position for future generations of supporters.

Looking ahead, United’s leadership faces a delicate balancing act. If Ratcliffe can assemble the right coaching staff, attract a manager whose vision aligns with the club’s broader strategy, and secure sustained funding for a modern stadium and training facilities, the club’s value could head north once again. The Glazers’ ongoing ownership remains a point of contention for fans who yearn for more transparent communication and a clearer footballing plan. The volume cautions that the club’s future may be defined not only by the results on the pitch but also by its ability to reconcile a deep and loyal supporter base with a business model built to withstand the pressures of global sports markets. It is a story that still has many chapters to write, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe positioned as the chief architect of what comes next, and the Glazer family continuing to hold the levers of control at a club whose global footprint remains formidable even as its on-pitch fortunes have lagged. The question remains: can United reassert themselves as a football power while maintaining the financial strengths that have kept the club among the world’s most valuable brands?