Man Utd takeover: Bidder withdraws amid ‘£6bn’ asking price which ‘makes no sense’ as u-turn performed

Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has turned his attention to buying other football clubs after claiming the price to purchase Manchester United no longer makes sense from an investment standpoint.

The Glazers announced their intention to sell the club in November but despite the season coming to an end for the Old Trafford club last weekend, there has been no suggestion the takeover process is reaching a conclusion.

SirJim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani are the only two bidders still in the running who have publicly declared their intent to become majority owners, with Ratcliffe submitting a bid for 70 per cent control of the club while Sheikh Jassim wants to buy the Glazers out completely.

Zilliacus appeared unlikely to take over the club at this stage, but in March had claimed he would offer supporters a 50 per cent stake in the club if he became the owner.

However, in an update on Twitter, he has ruled himself out of the running and addressed rumours of interest in Inter Milan, who face Manchester City in the Champions League final on Saturday night.

He said: “XXI Century Football Capital believes the price of Manchester United has reached levels where investments no longer make sense. We therefore have turned our attention to other clubs.

He added: “Lately my name has been linked to Inter Milan. It is a great club with a fantastic history. The owner has however said the club is not for sale. Let’s all respect that and support #Inter in tomorrow’s final. I predict a narrow win for #nerazzurri.”

Meanwhile, Sheikh Jassim has performed a u-turn with his final bid for the club. On Wednesday the Qatari banker said he would walk away from the drawn-out process if his bid was not accepted by Friday.

However, The Guardian reports his offer will remain on the table as the saga drags on with the summer transfer window approaching.