Man United Takeover News
Over a year ago, Manchester United’s current owners, the Glazer family, announced their intention to sell the club. As one of the biggest brands in the football world, Man United has attracted a lot of attention from the world’s richest. At one point, even Elon Musk was being linked with a potential takeover at Old Trafford.
One year later, there is no clear end in sight as to who will be the next Man United owner. The main reason behind it is, as per reports, the inflated £6 billion asking price the Glazers continue insisting on. However, the recent rumours can serve as a good indication as to who will buy Man United in the end.
Potential owner no.1 – Sheikh Jassim
Sheikh Jassim, or Jassim bin Muhammed bin Jassim Al Thani in full, has been linked with a potential takeover at Manchester United since the very beginning of the whole saga. He is part of the Qatari royal family.
It is claimed that Sheikh Jassim has, in the past, made five different bids to buy the Red Devils but they were all rejected by the Glazers as the offers did not match their expectations.
The latest update is that Sheikh Jassim has submitted a take-it-or-leave-it bid which is £1 billion short of the asking price. However, the Glazers are confident that they will be able to negotiate a higher sum as Sheikh Jassim made ultimatums before but always returned to the negotiating table. Apparently, the current Man United owners are in no rush to sell the club, especially with their shares increasing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Potential owner no.2 – Ratcliffe
The other horse in the race is Sir James Ratcliffe, the CEO of INEOS chemical groups. He has been named the wealthiest man in the UK on more than one occasion. Similar to Sheikh Jassim, Ratcliffe’s last offer stood at £5 billion. However, there have not been any substantial updates in his regard.
Considering the absence of support among the fans for the Glazers, any new owner will be met with open arms by the Old Trafford faithful. However, Ratcliffe may stand above the rest as he is known to have been a fan of the club since childhood.
Besides, Ratcliffe already has experience in the industry as he owns FC Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland and OGC Nice in France. He also made an unsuccessful attempt to buy Chelsea in 2022.