A Mail on Sunday report claims the Glazers are planning to take Man Utd off the market with the plan of putting the club back up for sale in 2025 when they believe their valuation of £7bn-£10bn will be met; Gary Neville is sceptical and does not believe the Glazers will do so
Monday 4 September 2023 07:18, UK
The bidders hoping to buy Manchester United still remain interested in a takeover and believe the club remains up for sale.
A Mail on Sunday report claims the Glazers are planning to take Man Utd off the market with the plan of putting the club back up for sale in 2025 when they believe their valuation of £7bn-£10bn will be met.
Those involved in the process, including merchant bank Raine, the overseers of the takeover talks, have not been told of any change.
Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe were the only serious bidders by the end of the takeover process but they fell short of the valuation the Glazers set. Sky Sports News understands that they wanted £6bn.
There has always been a strong possibility that the Glazers will not sell, having never officially put the club up for sale.
US hedge fund Elliott Management were also sniffing around, offering investment into the club which could have allowed the Glazers to remain as majority shareholders.
Man Utd fans have protested the Glazers' ownership ever since they completed a leveraged buyout to assume full control of the club in 2005, with discontent towards the family now at an all-time high.
"Man United bidders have always thought there's strong possibility Glazers won't sell," posted Sky Sports News'
Kaveh Solhekol. "Theory that Ratcliffe had won stories were meant to make Qatar bid more, Qatar had won stories were meant to make Ratcliffe bid more, and sale is off stories meant to make both bid more."
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville says he does not believe the Glazers are actually taking the club off the market.
"I just can't believe that the report is true," the former United captain told Sky Sports News. "It's part of the game playing and the manipulating of stories that they have been doing for a long time. I don't see anyway that they can keep hold of the club because they've got no money.
"Anyone that has a bit of knowledge of the financial situation at the club will know that it is desperate. They keep putting it down to FFP, they keep saying that they can't bring players on board and stuff like that.
"They have spent and invested money this summer but they have to bring money in and that will either be through a dilution, some sort of debt on the business - which no one can imagine because of the debt that is already on the business - or they sell. I think the most likely route is that they sell.
"They are trying to bump the price up which is the negotiating tactic of many. They don't panic, so they stand strong, they don't rush, they are knowledgable business people and know that the more they prolong this process they might get an extra quid or two out of it.
"I can't believe the story to be true because they need money desperately into the club."
