Manchester United are at the centre of a takeover battle after their Glazer family owners put the club up for sale.
Manchester United could be taken over by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani after the club were put up for sale by their Glazer family owners last year. But the Qatari could overpay by an eye-watering £3billion if his bid ultimately proves to be successful.
The Glazer family appeared to be ready to offload the Red Devils after announcing last November that they were exploring “strategic alternatives to enhance the club’s growth.” Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have become the frontrunners to buy the club, with many fɑɴȿ desperate to see United’s ownership change hands as quickly as possible.
In June, Sheikh Jassim submitted what was described as a ‘fifth and final’ bid for the Red Devils, with Sky Sports ɾєρօɾτing the offer was for £5bn plus an extra billion to fund infrastructure. That means the Qatari is willing to shell out an enormous £6bn in єxƈҺɑɴɢє for the club.
But the takeover process has been an arduous, drawn out one and is in danger of derailing due to a potential U-turn from the Glazers. According to the i newspaper, a source close to one of the bidding parties fears the the American owners have now effectively ‘paused’ the process as Avram and Joel Glazer have been disappointed with the size of the offers for the club.
Manchester United could be taken over by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani (Image: SHEIKH JASSIM BIN HAMAD AL THANI )
“We’ve not been given any guidance at all on what comes next,” a source told the publication at the start of the week. “There haven’t been requests to modify the offers or come up with a new round of bids as there was earlier in the process, there’s just been no communication whatsoever of late.”
Sheikh Jassim may well feel his offer is far greater than United are actually worth. On Tuesday, off the back of the latest takeover developments, the Red Devils’ share price fell by 8.57 per cent or £1.49 ($1.90) to єɴԀ the day at £15.86 ($20.26). And based on that price, United as a business are currently only worth £2.83bn ($3.61b), less than half the amount of money the Qatari has agreed to put up.
Manchester United are currently owned by the Glazer family (Image: GETTY)
United will be hoping the takeover talk doesn’t get in the way of matters on the pitch as they prepare for the new Premier League campaign. The north west giants travelled to the USA for their pre-season tour but lost three of their four matches as they came out second best against Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund following a 4-0 victory over Arsenal.
Erik ten Hag’s side are now set to face Lens and Athletic Bilbao before their Premier League season gets underway against Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday, August 14.
