The Glazers' asking price for Manchester United has been laughed off by a football finance expert who insists "the numbers simply don't stack up."
The American owners are seeking around £6bn if they are to part ways with the Premier League club, which would be a world record figure for a sports team. There is interest from Britain's richest man, Qatar and Finland with the latest round of bidding recently closing.
Chelsea's £4.2bn takeover in the summer acted as something of a barometer for Premier League sides in the modern climate, but United want more given their global stature. Kieran Maguire however has cited Thursday's second quarter results - which reported a profit of just £6.3million and carry debt of £741m - as proof of the financial mess at Old Trafford, which makes a mockery of the Glazers' demands.
He told the Daily Mail : "When you look at cash generated by the business it is nowhere near £6bn. Last August, the market valued United at around £2bn. Potentially it is now worth double, but any more and you really should be crossing your fingers. Coming up with a valuation is more art than science.
"You look at how much cash the business is likely to make in the next 10 years and then you add a couple of magic numbers. I did that with United and, being generous with the predictions, came up with £2.8bn. The only way it would be worth near £6bn would be if you could take control of broadcast rights and sell them yourself. As we saw with Project Big Picture that is not going to happen, so the numbers simply don't stack up."
The Raine Group are managing the process of any potential sale but the current belief is that bids of around £5bn, which have been lodged by potential buyers, will fall short of demands.
United's current debt, which Qatari Sheik Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is willing to rid of if he's successful, remains a major issue and the club have had to endure another year without Champions League revenue this term. Any new owner will also have to invest significantly in the infrastructure.
That is alongside the price they pay to purchase the club. It is well documented that Old Trafford has been neglected and is now considered second-rate in the modern game as clubs around Europe continue to modernise their own grounds, Tottenham being a clear example.
United's Carrington training base has also been overtaken by several of their rivals, although funds have been allocated to improve the facilities in recent years. Erik ten Hag will also be seeking a hefty transfer kitty this summer if the club are to continue moving forward on the pitch.
