After months of waiting, Manchester United supporters are still impatiently awaiting the takeover of their team to begin.
Although it was never made clear whether the Americans wanted a full or partial sale, months have passed since the Glazers declared they would welcome investment into the team. There is still no clear indication of when a takeover will be reached, and the new owner — whoever they may be — is unlikely to be in place by the start of the upcoming season. Preseason is already scheduled to begin.
Here, we examine all recent information regarding the situation.
Glazers claim
One of the Premier League’s creators Jon Smith is backing Sheikh Jassim to win the United takeover race, claiming the Glazers likely want out completely.
He admitted to CaughtOffside, “I can’t see past Sheikh Jassim.” “I mean, he can have Man United if he truly wants it.
“I don’t believe the Glazer family truly wants to support Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s proposal, in my opinion. Once you leave, you leave forever. You continue. However, I believe it to be an excellent bargaining strategy. If the sale is about the money and the passion for Manchester United—and there is undoubtedly a big capital P with passion that follows that club—ratcliffe would undoubtedly be a more imaginative ownership, but I just think Qatar may have it if they so choose.
The Monetary Aspect
Financial expert Viva Mukherjee has been investigating a potential takeover of United, and she told Football Insider that Sheikh Jassim’s investment strategy is quite similar to the Friedkin Group’s at Roma, but on a greater scale.
“In 2020, the group paid £510 million for an 86.6 percent stake in AS Roma, of which £331 million was debt accumulated by the previous owner. In a similar vein, paying off Old Trafford’s gross debt of £725 million is included in the Qatari deal.
“To delist the Italian club from the stock exchange, The Friedkin Group need 95% equity, which Jassim would own at Old Trafford if he were to be successful in the takeover.
“Should Jassim take over, I think he’ll try to delist United from the stock exchange and do something similar. He is offering the club for about $6.3 billion (£4.95 billion), with the Glazers and the club’s owners receiving the lion’s share of that sum. As opposed to the Ratcliffe bid, where the club’s debt is expected to stay and the club may still be traded on the stock exchange, this is the opposite.
Jassim’s claim
Recent sources indicate that Sheikh Jassim is still the most likely candidate, and Bloomberg now claims that the Qatari side is “increasingly confident” that a deal can be reached.
The same report does claim the Glazers could yet make a last-minute decision to remain in charge, but the Qatari camp are said to believe it is a ‘matter of time’ before they get an agreement in place.
Jassim has already reportedly set deadlines and threatened no further offers, but it seems his determination to land the club has superseded all those threats and demands up to this point.
