Man Utd takeover: Glazer ‘kids’ stop sale of club to Sheikh Jassim due to ‘internal disputes’

Will Ford
Joel and Avram are two of the five Glazer sons with a stake in Manchester United.
The Glazers are pushing for AR cameras to be worn by the Man Utd players.

Sheikh Jassim may well now be the owner of Manchester United if it weren’t for those meddling Glazer kids.

The Qatari banker has been vying with INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe for control of United since the Glazer family announced in November that they were ‘exploring strategic alternatives for the club’, including the possibility of a ‘full sale’.

Both parties, along with the rest of us, have been waiting for Raine Group – who are in charge of the process – to reveal the preferred bidder, but we’re none the wiser.

Should Ratcliffe, who claims to be a lifelong Man Utd fan, buy the club, he will likely keep the Glazers on board, while Sheikh Jassim wants full ownership.

A report on Wednesday claimed the Qatari billionaire remains ‘confident’ he will be the club’s next owner and that there’s a belief it is now ‘simply a matter of time’ until the Qatari group is announced as the successful bidders.

READ: Premier League five-year net spend table sees Manchester United top

And Global Finance claim Sheikh Jassim would already have been announced as the new owner if it weren’t for ‘internal disputes’ among the Glazers.

“What’s the issue? It’s getting the kids to agree,” an M&A advisor close to the talks told Global Finance. “Not all five want to do the deal.”

Those five individuals are Avram Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Bryan Glazer, Joel Glazer and Edward Glazer, all of whom hold shares in the club.

The Manchester United sale process “is just in shambles,” the source added, citing tension among the Glazers over the price and whether to sell to Qatar at all.

When asked about the Glazers role in holding up the deal the Raine Group declined to comment.

Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus, who was at one time interested in buying the club from the Glazers, recently criticised the process on his Twitter account.

‘How many more months shall we read about United takeover news? This is already the most farcical club takeover in history. Never seen anyone so unable to make a decision,’ he said.

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