Man Utd's great decline: A timeline of the Glazer family's disastrous Old Trafford tenure

On the same day that United are beaten 2-0 by Liverpool in the League Cup final in Cardiff, Malcolm Glazer, a Florida-based businessman who is also the owner of the recently crowned Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spends £9m ($11m) to buy a 2.9 per cent stake in Manchester United. Glazer makes the purchase through a holding company called Red Football. By late November, he and his family has a 15% stake in the club.

On May 12, Glazer takes his stake in the club to almost 57% of total shares after buying out major shareholders J. P McManus and John Magnier. The Irish businessmen, major players in horse racing, were acquaintances of Sir Alex Ferguson but fell out with the Scot over a disagreement over studding rights of Rock of Gibraltar, a horse the United manager co-owned with Magnier's wife.

Four days later, Red Football increases its stake in United to 75%, allowing the Glazer family to end the club's status as a PLC and delist it from the London Stock Exchange. A number of United fans, who have been opposed to the takeover since February, wear black to the FA Cup final against Arsenal. United lose on penalties.

The sale process is complete on June 29 after Red Football's shareholding reaches 98%, meaning it is allowed to squeeze out the remaining shareholders. The club is plunged into debt for the first time in over 70 years, taking on debt of £660m (£824m), incurring interest payments of £62m (£77m) per year.

The day after the sale is completed around 300 fans protest against the new owners outside Old Trafford and are pushed back by 100 police, leading to two arrests. United great Sir Bobby Charlton apologises to the new owners for the hostile reception they receive.

Malcolm Glazer's sons Avram, Joel and Bryan are appointed as non-executive directors. His other sons Kevin and Edward and daughter Darcie are appointed to the club's board in 2006.

Also in June, supporters distraught by the takeover launch a new club called FC United of Manchester, who are accepted into the non-league North West Counties Division Two.

United are in rude health on the pitch, having won three consecutive Premier League titles, the 2008 Champions League and reaching the 2009 Champions League final. Despite all the success and relatively frugal spending in the transfer market after selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a world-record £80m ($100m) fee, the club's debt increases from £660m (£824m) to £716m ($894m).

The announcement that United intend to refinance the debt unleashes a new wave of protests at matches. For the first time, fans start wearing green and gold, the colours of Newton Heath, instead of red to show their opposition to the owners.

Mass protests take place before United's final game of the 2009-10 season against Stoke, when there is still a chance they can win the title. They eventually surrender their crown to Chelsea.

The world of football is left stunned when United announce that Ferguson, who has been in charge of the club since 1986 and presided over their greatest ever era, is to retire. Ferguson has just led United to a 13th Premier League title, the club's 20th overall.

Everton boss David Moyes is chosen, on the recommendation of Ferguson, as the club's next manager. After his final match in charge against Swansea, Ferguson urges the Old Trafford to "stand by the new manager".

After only signing Marouane Fellaini in the transfer window, Moyes gets off to a difficult start as United manager, suffering heavy defeats to Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. Moyes, who had been handed a six-year contract, is fired after United lose to Everton and they fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1992. It is the first time a United manager has been sacked since Ron Atkinson in 1986.

Malcolm Glazer, who suffered a stroke in April 2006, dies aged 85. He never set foot inside Old Trafford. United issue a brief statement marking his death, saying: "The thoughts of everyone at Manchester United are with his family," said a spokesman for the Premier League club." There is not much mourning among the majority of United supporters, however.

On April 18, reports emerge that United and five other Premier League clubs as well as clubs from Italy and Spain have signed up to a new European Super League. The competition will replace the Champions League and allow them automatic entry each season regardless of where they finish in their domestic leagues.

The Glazers have been one of the main proponents of the new competition but, less than 48 hours after the announcement, United soon join Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal in withdrawing from it following huge dissent from supporters across all of English football.

United's fans begin organising against the Glazers again and the match with Liverpool on May 2 is postponed after fans storm Old Trafford and gain entry to the pitch.

While the World Cup is under way, United's board announces that it is "commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives for the club", which includes a potential sale.

A statement reads: "The process is designed to enhance the club's future growth, with the ultimate goal of positioning the club to capitalise on opportunities both on the pitch and commercially. As part of this process, the Board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the Company."

Minutes after the announcement is made, fireworks are set off around Old Trafford as fans get excited at the prospect that the Glazers' long reign of decline is soon to come to an end.

United hold a first round of offers from hopeful bidders for the club. Two main candidates emerge: petrochemical firm INEOS, led by Manchester-born entrepreneur Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

Representatives from the interested parties visit Old Trafford in March to meet club officials and discuss their proposals for the Red Devils in detail.

Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation makes a final 'take-it-or-leave-it' bid for United which makes him the favourite to become the club's next owner. His bid is reported to be more than £5 billion ($6.25m) but still short of the Glazers' £6bn ($7.5m) valuation.

On September 6, United's share price drops by 18%, losing more than £600m ($750m) in value after a report appears in the Daily Mail claiming the Glazers are considering taking the club off the market and now value it at £10bn ($12.5bn). It is the biggest price drop since the club was floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012 and far bigger than the previous biggest drop, in March 2020, when all football was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Consequently, United fans are still counting the cost of the Glazer family's disastrous tenure 18 years on from their Old Trafford takeover.