Manchester United’s worth dropped once it was revealed that the Glazer family would continue its ownership of the team.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani’s bid to complete a Manchester United takeover looks to be the Glazers’ preferred route to take, according to reports.
While Glazer family’s estimated value for the club, claimed to be over £6 billion, was apparently not met by Sheikh Jassim’s third and final bid, reports say the £4.8 billion sale of NFL team Washington Commanders would pale in comparison to the entire takeover proposed by the Qatari.
The sheikh’s rival bidders, INEOS are proposing to own just over 50% of the club, meaning the Glazers could retain their stake of approximately 20%.
However, experts claim that the American owners, who are not particularly liked by Red Devils supporters, will still be tempted to accept Sheikh Jassim’s offer.
Dan Plumley, an expert in sports finance, maintained that the Glazers would favour an entire acquisition for more money.
“I think the decisive factor is always simply money when it comes down to it. If not the best offer on the table, it’ll be the one that is slightly preferred based on the finances behind it,” he said.
“If that is the price (£5/6bn) that the Glazers are wanting or at least are willing to sell at for a full takeover, let’s say, my gut feeling on it, and you know you’re always speculating slightly, but I just think the Qatar bid is probably slightly preferred at the minute because it’s a full takeover.”
“Also, through the connections of that owner, you know that you could get access to funds further down the line to build the club because you’ve got to look at infrastructure, you’ve got to look at squad development, etc,” Plumley said.
“It’s not just the takeover price, it’s all the other stuff that comes with it, so it does feel like that’s the one that has the most clout.”
The deadline for a takeover was said to be before the summer transfer window, as per initial reports that came after the club’s November announcement to seek funding.
Despite setbacks along the way, Plumley still thinks a takeover will be finished in time for United’s new owners to show up and shift matters around in the market.
“I think that’s always been the marker with this one [before the summer transfer window]. You have to look at that in the context of the November deadline in the first instance,” Plumley detailed.
“It’s not unusual for these things to go that long, and actually, you will probably argue when you’ve got a £5/6 billion takeover in place that it does need to take time.
“You should be doing the full background checks all the way around. That’s the kind of time element to it, it might feel like it’s dragged on from fan’s point of view, but it was always likely to play out that way.”
The process so far has appeared to point to a deal being completed before the beginning of the incoming window so that the potential new owners or investors might have preparations in place for the summer and moving forward, he said.
“I think we’re still on that timeline. I know it probably feels like we’ve been talking about it forever, but it seems to be that we’re moving towards that time scale still.”
Numerous supporters dislike the Glazers, who have been in ownership of the team since 2005. The unpopularity is often linked to below-par performances in the Premier League and the lack of investment in Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s worth dropped once it was revealed that the contentious Glazer family would continue to own the team.
After ESPN reported that owners and co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer are optimistic they can get funding to allow them to retain ownership of the club, the company’s stock price dropped 13%.
