With its long history of aggregating prizes, revamping the team after the 1958 Munich air catastrophe and self-boasting 1.1 billion fans around the world, Manchester United is “seemingly England’s generally important brandishing, maybe even social, resource,” as indicated by Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy.
As a result, a multi-billion dollar bidding war spanned the financial sector, geopolitics, and soccer when United’s American owners, the Glazer family, announced almost four months ago that they were considering selling the team.
Additionally, it pushed the share price up from $13.03 on November 21 to a 52-week high of $27.34 on February 16, despite the fact that it started falling once more as reports began to surface questioning the club’s true value.
All in all, what will befall the undeniably popular club before very long, why is its potential sale so significant, and could the Glazers, after so much, remain its owners?
There are only two confirmed bidders for the club at this time, despite all the rumors that have been floating around: Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.
According to multiple reports, a soft deadline of February 17 set by the Raine Group, the bank handling the sale, prompted both to publicly confirm their intention.
Parties from Saudi Arabia have also supposedly entered the competition to own the club, while the US-based mutual funds Elliott Investment and Ares Management Corp have presented their proposition to the table for supporting for a bid, the Message and Reuters revealed.
In addition, the Glazers retain control of the entire procedure, despite the fact that their leveraged buyout of United left the club with a net debt of $626 million, making them deeply unpopular with United supporters.
Fans have held marches against the Glazer family at Old Trafford and hung banners reading “Love United, Hate Glazer” at home and away games for years.
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Meanwhile, Manchester United, on the other hand, has not commented on the Glazers’ ownership.
Sheikh Jassim, chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), made an official bid for “100% of” Manchester United on February 17, stating that he wanted to “return the club to its former glories.”
Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar has made an official bid for Manchester United for the time being.
“The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports,” the statement continued, adding that more details of the bid would be released when appropriate if the process develops.
Sheikh Jassim is said to have been a Manchester United fan his entire life. He is the son of Qatar’s former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.
His bid, soccer finance expert Kieran Maguire says, would “effectively take the club private again,” eliminating all the debt, and buying out “not just the Glazer family, but everybody else that owns shares in Manchester United as well.”
