Qatari Sheikh will make another offer for Manchester United as the third date approaches: sources
Since the deadline for the third round of bidding to buy Manchester United is coming up on Friday, the future of the Premier League giants seems unsure.
The Glazers, who own the league right now, reportedly want a world record £6 billion ($7.3 billion) fee, which has not yet been met.
Fans are worried that the Glazers might keep owning the team for a long time, but Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani plans to put in another bid before the deadline at 10pm BST.
ESPN said that the Sheikh, who is backed by Qatar, is still sure that his bid will be successful.
In the race to buy United, the Qatari banker and British investor Jim Ratcliffe, who is leading INEOS, are in the lead.
When they first asked for outside investment in November, the Glazers, who have been disliked by fans since their £790 million leveraged takeover of the club in 2005, seemed ready to sell for a huge profit.
Some private equity firms, like Elliot Investment Management and the Carlyle Group, are looking for a minority share. This would let the Glazers keep control of the club and give the Glazers the money they need to make improvements to the club’s infrastructure.
Reports say that Kevin, Bryan, and Edward Glazer, as well as Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, are willing to sell their shares, while Avram and Joel Glazer want to keep their shares in the league.
People thought that the offers from the second round of bidding last month were worth around £5 billion.
That would beat the Premier League record of £2.5 billion, which was paid for Chelsea last year by a group led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity company Clearlake Capital. Another £1.75 billion has been promised to invest in infrastructure and players.
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) wants the process to be over quickly so that new owners can take over before the summer transfer window.
“We need new investment so badly that it’s clear we need new ownership. United fans all over the world, including MUST, want this process to end as soon as possible, the fans’ group said in a statement.