New ‘advanced’ Man Utd takeover claim made as Sheikh Jassim is ruled out amid Glazers theory

A takeover of Man Utd could be ‘advanced’ but not in terms of the UAE-based consortium making a bid for the club, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

Man Utd fans were sent into a frenzy last week after Saudi Arabian boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh revealed that a potential takeover of the Premier League giants is at an ‘advanced stage’.

Alalshikh wrote on X: ‘The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor – I hope he’s better than the previous owners.’

After realising many supporters thought he was talking about himself or another Saudi Arabian party taking over Man Utd, Alalshikh clarified his initial post.

He added the day after: ‘My yesterday’s post about Manchester United’s potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor.

‘Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.’

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It later emerged on Monday that a UAE-based consortium, who are ‘very serious’ about buying the club, held a meeting in London earlier this week with Man Utd officials.

Former CBS Sports journalist Jacobs insists that the deal could be “advanced” but only “in terms of internally putting itself together”.

Jacobs said on talkSPORT: “It’s not Saudi. I’m getting denials from sources that it’s Qatar and that Sheikh Jassim may return. But there is a group specifically from the UAE that are interested and are exploring whether or not they can put together a consortium and have actually approached some ex-Manchester United players not to invest, but to be ambassadors.

“That’s where we’re at the moment. This group may be advanced in terms of internally putting itself together, but they haven’t placed a bid, nor have they even alerted the Glazers yet. We’ll have to wait and see how it develops.”

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The Athletic‘s Laurie Whitwell has a theory that the Glazers are trying to get some interest going in Man Utd before they attempt to sell in 2027.

Speaking on the Talk of the Devils podcast, Whitwell said: “Some people will now say that it’s in the Glazers’ interest before February to get a new deal in place with somebody else because that creates competitive tension and they get a higher price for their shares.

“But also after that point, why would anybody want to buy the club now, because there is this automatic minimum there, so why wouldn’t they just wait until February 2027?

“So maybe all this kind of chatter, is it because the Glazers want to – I don’t know, I’m theorizing here – but there’s a world where they could want to get some interest around it to get something going before that deadline.

“After that, they might not be able to get the same kind of price. It’s a fascinating dynamic.”

Journalist Andy Mitten also had his say on the takeover rumours, he said: “I don’t have any evidence of the investment. And I’m a little bit sceptical because I’ve seen people before say stuff that doesn’t end up being true, and then they get caught out and say, ‘Whoa, I was only sort of saying what I’ve heard.’ And they realise that there’s a level of scrutiny to this, that they’ve got to back up what they’ve said.”

Host of the podcast, Ian Irving, added: “You think he (Turki Alsheikh) would be aware of that, though, considering his position and considering his social media following. He knows what impact that tweet is going to make.”

Mitten replied: “I would have thought Rio Ferdinand would have been aware when he said Manchester United are going to be taken over by Qatar, which was completely baseless. Sometimes people make mistakes.”

Before he continued: “From Manchester United’s perspective, they’ve got absolutely no idea of this, but the Glazers are hardly going to be ringing around journalists to say what it is.”