Thomas Zilliacus has seemingly withdrawn from the Manchester United takeover process, labelling the Glazers' decision to open a third round of bidding a 'farce'.
Zilliacus entered the picture during the second phase with a bid which would allow United fans to own 50 per cent of the club via a small fee. The Finnish businessman had also mooted the idea of combining with the two major parties, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani.
But he has now backed out of the process after the Raine Group, acting on behalf of the Glazer family, opened a third round of bidding on Tuesday, with a deadline of April 28. The decision has been met with widespread criticism, Zilliacus himself pleading for a swift resolution to the process.
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On Wednesday evening, the entrepreneur took to social media to say he would not be making a third offer, seemingly withdrawing from the process. Zilliacus slammed the Glazer family, claiming they are attempting to maximise profit at the expense of the club.
He tweeted: "I have declined participation in a third bidding round for United. The bidding is turning into a farce, with Glazers giving no respect to the club. The delays will make it very difficult for any new owner to build a winning team for next season."
And a second tweet added: "Jim Ratcliffe, sheik Jassim and myself all were ready to negotiate a deal to buy United. Instead Glazers chose to start a new round. I will not participate in a farce set up to maximize the profit for the sellers at the expense of Manchester United."
Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are expected to continue their attempts to buy out the Glazer family, with both having submitted second offers thought to be around £5billion - still some way short of the American family's £6billion valuation.
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