Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus is set to submit a bid for Manchester United that will see fan ownership introduced - allowing them equal say via an app.
The Glazers are currently open to potential sale options, which could yet involve a minority investor, with interest so far coming from Britain's richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and Qatari businessman, Sheikh Jassim. Following Wednesday's deadline, both have been granted an extension to submit their second bid...but now a new bidder has now come to the table.
Zilliacus had made his fortunes through novaM Group, a new social media group, and is ready to submit his offer through XXI Century Capital, an investment firm owned by his holding company. The Finn's unique bid comes via his fan involvement, which will be hugely appealing to supporters.
”Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans. The current development, where billionaire sheiks and oligarchs take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend."
Zilliacus, has been chairman of Finland’s 32-times football champions HJK and an owner of Finland’s 6-times ice hockey champions Jokerit. He has added on his vision: “The current market value of the club is just under 3.9 billion USD. That means that if every one of the fans of the club would join in buying the club, the total sum per fan would amount to less than 6 dollars. My bid is built on equality with the fans.
"My group will finance half of the sum needed to take over the club, and will ask the fans, through a new company that is being set up for this specific purpose, to participate for the other half. If every fan joins it means less than 3 dollars per fan. Each fan who joins will have access to an app which the fan, from anywhere in the world, can use to participate and cast his vote when deciding on footballing matters relating to the club. No decisions will be taken that are not supported by a majority of the fan base."
The Raine Group are currently leading the search for investors on behalf of the Glazers, who have a mammoth asking price, albeit the exact figure is not necessarily known by senior individuals involved, as per Sky Sports. Reports suggest they are seeking £6bn for the Premier League club.
That would represent a record sale for a sport clubs, although Chelsea's recent sale has set the bar for investment in leading football clubs. Their purchase, which exceeded £4bn, also included guarantees to fund the club's infrastructure, which is not the case in Manchester. Any buyer is likely to have to invest in Old Trafford and the club's Carrington training ground.
Zilliacus has also outlined his desire to make United the driving force in stop online abuse, which is rife. “Manchester United should not only be the best football club in the world, it should also be the leading club in the world in working to stop abuse, racism and hate speech in social media and on sports grounds” he added.
