Man Utd takeover latest: Glazers could receive eight bids for club today as bidding war heats up
More than five bids will reportedly be made for Manchester United before Wednesday evening’s deadline for second offers – and there could even be as many as eight.
The Glazer family has already committed to selling the club, but only for their asking price of £6bn. If that is not met, they will raise capital to invest in the club and pay off debt.
It is believed that while several high-profile names have made opening offers for Man Utd, no one is currently the favourite to take over, although one could emerge after Wednesday’s deadline.
This is according to Sky Sports News, who claim that up to eight potential investors are still in the race to take over the Premier League giants.
However, it is worth noting that the Glazers could keep some control of the Red Devils by agreeing on a minority sale, with the team’s performances improving dramatically with their new strategy now in place.
Sky’s report notes that selling the club is not an easy decision for them to make, as the club is rarely available to buy and is unlikely to come back on the market for at least another 20 years.
Sheikh Jassim holds positive talks with Man Utd
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani’s representatives visited Man Utd’s facilities and Old Trafford last week, after being one of the first to table an initial offer for the club.
The Qatari banker is widely considered to be the frontrunner to take over control of the Red Devils after the Glazers put them up for sale last November.
As per Sky’s report, it is believed that talks last Thursday between Sheikh Jassim’s delegation and the United executives in Manchester ‘went well.’
His team of negotiators travelled to Manchester from London and were in talks with the club for approximately 10 hours – considerably longer than expected.
It was previously understood that Sheikh Jassim was determined not to pay over the odds for United, but after these latest talks, it is thought that his position has softened.
Now, his advisers are working on putting together a fresh bid which is expected to be submitted before the closure of business on Wednesday.
Radcliffe still in race, with wildcards set to emerge
However, Sheikh Jassim’s delegation were not the only ones to visit the club during the past two weeks, so some surprise candidates may still emerge before Wednesday’s deadline.
One potential buyer who isn’t a surprise, though, is Sir Jim Radcliffe, who is still thought to be one of the favourites to buy Man Utd.
However, the English billionaire, who already owns French club Nice, has declared that he won’t pay a ‘stupid’ price for the club.
In a recent interview, the 70-year-old said: “How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house? It’s not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint.
“What you don’t want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently.”
However, Ratcliffe has since said that his interest in United would be “purely in winning things”, calling the club a “community asset.”
The Englishman was photographed outside Old Trafford after meeting the club’s executives, unlike Sheikh Jassim, who did not visit Manchester in person.
With all that in mind, this story is definitely one to keep a close eye on, as we edge closer to the deadline for second bids for the famous club.
