The Glazer family, who own 90 percent of the club, have faced criticism from United fans throughout their tenure, with many hoping to see change in the boardroom during the 2022-23 season.
Manchester United owner Avram Glazer spoke with potential investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar during his visit to Doha for the World Cup, according to reports.
This comes after the Glazer family announced its intention to “explore strategic alternatives” for the Premier League team, “including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions” in November.
The Raine Group, United’s exclusive financial advisor, is reportedly targeting a full sale of the club in the first quarter of 2023 for between £6 billion and £7 billion.
Although the nature of Glazer’s discussions with various groups he met in Doha remains unclear, he used his trip to the Middle East to meet with potential investors at a time when the Premier League club is up for sale.
On Wednesday, Glazer told The Athletic that the sale process was “going forwards” during his trip to Qatar.
“It’s not necessarily a sale, it’s a process and we’re going forward with the process, so we’ll seewhat happens,”Glazer told the sports outlet after watching France’s 2-0 semi-final win over Morocco.
“That’s the update, it’s the process and the process is proceeding.”
Manchester United and Raine Group are yet to comment on this, according to The Athletic.
There have been previous discussions with Saudi Arabia and Dubai-based investment funds about investing in United. Glazer also bought a cricket franchise in United Arab Emirates’ T20 cricket league.
Meanwhile, the recent talks in Doha come after Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, expressed hope that his country would invest in United or rival Liverpool, both of which are for sale.
Prince Turki, speaking to Sky News in November, said when asked about potential investment: “I hope so, if there are investors and the numbers add up, and it makes a good business.
“Then the private sector could come in, or companies could come in, from the kingdom.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world. Everyone’s watching the Premier League. It’s the most watched league and there are diehard fans of these teams in the kingdom. So it would be a benefit for everyone.”
