By
Summary
· The Daily Mail reported this week that the Glazers wanted a bid of at least £6 billion ($7.2 billion, 6.8 billion euros)
London. Plans for a takeover of Manchester United could be
delayed until May, with the current US-based owners the Glazer family said to
be holding out for a better offer, according to British media reports.
The Daily Mail reported this week
that the Glazers wanted a bid of at least £6 billion ($7.2 billion, 6.8 billion
euros) after initial offers from Qatari's Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe were lodged at a maximum of £4.5 billion.
The Mail said this might mean a sale
of the club, which won its first trophy in six years by collecting the League
Cup on Sunday, would not take place until May at the earliest.
In another report, the Guardian said
there was indecision among the six Glazer siblings because each had their own
view of any takeover but that the sale remained "under serious
consideration by the family as a whole".
Sheikh Jassim, 41, educated at
Britain's elite Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, claims to be a long-time
United fan.
He was the first to submit a bid by
the 'soft deadline' of February 17 and has promised a "completely debt
free" takeover of United.
Boyhood United fan Ratcliffe, who
was born in the Manchester area, is one of Britain's wealthiest individuals,
with an estimated net worth of £12.5 billion ($15 billion) following the
success of INEOS, his global chemical company.
He is keen to expand a sporting
portfolio that already includes French football club Nice and Swiss team FC
Lausanne-Sport, as well as the cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team
Sky.
A price tag of around $6 billion would
smash the record fee for a football club set when a consortium led by LA
Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital
purchased Chelsea last year.
Russ Mould, investment director at
Manchester-headquartered stockbrokers AJ Bell, told AFP on Wednesday: "As
bidders continue to circle one of the globe's most valuable sports franchises,
it seems no party has reached the £6 billion valuation put on the business by
Manchester United's current owners."
Improvement under Ten Hag
United, one of the most successful
clubs in English football history, have struggled to keep pace with bitter
rivals Manchester City since the retirement of legendary manager Alex Ferguson
in 2013.
But under disciplinarian Dutch
manager Erik ten Hag, United appear to be on the rise and ended their long wait
for silverware by beating Newcastle 2-0 in the League Cup final at Wembley.
They are also third in the Premier
League, they beat Barcelona last week to progress to the last 16 of the Europa
League and were facing West Ham in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday.
Mould said that with United's
prospects on the pitch looking rosier, the Glazers might think twice about
ceding full control of the club.
"Speculation has been growing
that should Erik ten Hag's revolution in performance that has seen Manchester
United go through an improved run of form and win their first trophy since 2017
continue, the family could be less willing to sell the club."
If the Glazers do decide to hang on
to all or part of the club, it would be deeply unpopular with United's
supporters, who have frequently demonstrated en masse against the American
owners who they accuse of taking money out of the club over the years.
No comments :
Post a Comment