The Glazer family have been warned that the sale of Manchester United won’t proceed unless they release a statement confirming they are serious about relinquishing full control of the club.
United’s owners announced in November that they were “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives”. The Glazers hired Raine Group – the US investment bank which helped Todd Boehly’s consortium buy Chelsea last year – to oversee the process of finding interested parties.
The ‘soft deadline’ for parties to make their interest known passed on Friday, with INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the chairman of one of Qatar ’s biggest banks, coming forward. While there has been other reported interest, Ratcliffe and Al Thani remain the only two official bids.
City A.M. reports that Ratcliffe and Al Thani’s camps are nervously awaiting a statement from the Glazers. The report quotes sources who express concern that the Glazers have not said anything publicly throughout the entire process.
Ratcliffe and Al Thani want the American billionaires to confirm that they are completely serious about selling the club and are not just feeling out the market. There have been concerns that the Glazers could slow down the sale process because they want to wait for more bids to come to light. The report also says bidders have been irked by the Glazers’ insistence that they refrain from any explicit or implicit criticism of the Americans during the process.
The family, who also own NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are thought to want £6billion to sell United, who they loaded with debt in a 2005 takeover. The original statement in November said they would “consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company”.
Do you think the Glazers will sell Manchester United? Have your say in the comments!
In a statement released on Saturday, Ratcliffe’s bid said: "We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again. We also recognise that football governance in this country is at a crossroads.
"We would want to help lead this next chapter, deepening the culture of English football by making the club a beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership.”
On Friday, Al Thani said in a statement : “The bid plans to return the Club to its former glories both on and off the pitch, and – above all – will seek to place the fans at the heart of Manchester United Football Club once more.
"The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the Club supports.
"The vision of the bid is for Manchester United Football Club to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world.”
