Man Utd takeover concerns grow as Glazer deadline nears with bidders becoming ‘weary’ of process

Several potential buyers for Manchester United are believed to be growing weary of the takeover process as the latest deadline in the race to buy the 13-time Premier League champions approaches this week.

Just over five months have passed since the Glazer family announced plans to put the club up for sale in a move that to mark the beginning of the end for their controversial 17-year ownership at Old Trafford. Announced on the same day Cristiano Ronaldo ended his second spell at Old Trafford, a statement revealed the Glazers were exploring strategic alternatives ‘including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company’.

The Raine Group, who oversaw Todd Boehly’s successful bid to takeover at Chelsea, were tasked with finding a potential buyer and club directors Avram and Joel Glazer both gave an insight into the thinking behind the move to decision to open up a possible departure from the club.

They said: “As we seek to continue building on the club’s history of success, the board has authorized a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives. We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximizes the significant growth opportunities available to the Club today and in the future. Throughout this process we will remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”

However, from the outset of the sale process there has been scepticism over whether the Glazers wish to sell their entire stake in the club or simply welcome outside investment and continue their ownership. Indeed, those initial concerns were aired even before the statement was released by one of the current parties trying to secure a takeover in the near-future.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a lifelong United fan and the UK’s richest person, spoke of his desire to take over at Old Trafford in August but questioned whether the Glazers were willing sellers, saying: “We can’t sit around hoping that one day Manchester United will become available,” the Manchester‑born businessman said. We have an exciting sporting franchise (the Ligue 1 club Nice), but the one thing we don’t have is a Premier (League) team. The most popular sport in the world is football and it is the sport we were brought up with and it’s the one most close to us. We really should have an asset in the sporting franchise.”

Radcliffe is not the only interested party ahead of Friday’s deadline, with Qatari billionaire Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani remaining in the race from the very beginning. Sky Sports have reported he is ‘100 per cent committed’ to his bid for the club and has not changed his stance of wanted complete control at Old Trafford. But with just over 48 hours remaining in the latest stage of the process, and two rounds of bidding already completed, there are further concerns over whether a full sale will be completed or whether the Glazers will remain in situ with a slight decrease in their overall shareholding.

Those concerns are shared by the Manchester United Supporters Trust, who released a statement calling for the process to come to an end to allow Erik ten Hag to continue his impressive first season in charge. The statement read: “When it was announced in November that the Glazers were undertaking a “strategic review” and inviting offers to buy the Club, MUST welcomed the news and went on to urge the majority owners to move ahead with the process with speed, so that any period of uncertainty was as short as possible.

“Nearly five months on, we read speculation that offers from prospective buyers remain below the Glazers valuation, and that a third round of offers will now be invited. With Erik Ten Hag having made such great progress in his first season, and with the vital summer transfer window a matter of weeks away, the news of these delays and further prolonged uncertainty are of great concern.

“Erik needs to know what resources he has to spend so he can make the signings the Club needs, and the whole management resources of the Club need to be focussed on supporting him in that. That cannot be the case with the future ownership so unclear. We are also unable to move forward on major investment projects - not least the stadium redevelopment as we remain in limbo. We are in dire need of new investment, which undoubtedly requires new ownership. MUST, along with United fans all around the world, are calling for this process to be concluded without further delay.”