Man Utd takeover blow as the Glazers ‘pause’ the process and insider debunks ‘imminent’ deal claim
According to reports, the Glazer family have ‘paused’ the Man Utd takeover process even though the two main bidders are ‘keen to close a deal’.
The Premier League giants have been up for sale since last November. At the time, the Glazer family declared that they would be “evaluating all options” and a full sale was on the table.
There have since been three official rounds of bidding and INEOS’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim have emerged as the leading contenders in the race to become the club’s new majority shareholders.
Ratcliffe is willing to keep the Glazer family on board with his bid as he has offered the current owners a reduced stake of around 20%. Sheikh Jassim meanwhile is only interested in a 100% proposal.
The Glazer family have set their asking price for Man Utd at around £6bn but the current offers from Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are understood to be worth around £5bn.
It was initially hoped that the takeover would be completed during the early stages of 2023 but talks have dragged on and it now looks increasingly likely that the Glazer family will still be around next season.
At the end of last month, Sky Sports reported that there will be “clarification” regarding the takeover when United “return from their pre-season tour”.
“It’s gone very quiet but there are expected to be developments on the sale of Manchester United after the team returns from their pre-season tour of the United States next week,” Kaveh Solhekol told Sky Sports.
He added: “It has gone very quiet but there may be developments and some clarification next week. I think that would suit Erik ten Hag because he wants a resolution to this whole takeover saga. He’s been working hard trying to strengthen his squad in the transfer market this summer.”
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But I are reporting that ‘the takeover process has been effectively paused as far as at least one of the two main bidders are concerned’.
Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are ‘keen to close’ their respective deals but ‘talk of a decision being imminent does not seem to resonate with either’.
One person ‘close to the process’ is of the belief that ‘Avram and Joel Glazer have been disappointed with the size of the offers for the club’.
The Glazer family are reportedly of the belief that ‘ the new TV deals being negotiated, the growth of the game in the US, the new Champions League format will add value to the club in the coming years’.
A source told I: “We’ve not been given any guidance at all on what comes next.
“There haven’t been requests to modify the offers or come up with a new round of bids as there was earlier in the process, there’s just been no communication whatsoever of late.”
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