British broadcaster Sky Sports have reported that the takeover bid from Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has been accepted by the Glazers.
The club has been up for sale for almost a year and the American business mogul family has taken their time to consider a number of bids in order to make the most profit on an asset they have owned since the early 2000s. Manchester United fans are pleased with the decision of the Glazers to let go of the club as it brings to an end agitations that have spanned almost a decade.
The proposed new owner will excite them even more as a Middle Eastern tycoon is set to take over the club.
Business and political figures from the Middle East have been making inroads into European football for the better part of 15 years. Almost all their projects have been massive successes on the domestic front with Manchester City (Saudi Arabia) and Paris Saint- Germain (Qatar) being the biggest examples. United have managed to keep pace with these clubs on the financial front thanks to the Glazers’ financial might and the club’s rich history. On the sporting front, however, things have not gone so well for them.
The club’s fans believe that a Middle East takeover – which is about to be confirmed – will help them compete on the sporting front as they look to celebrate their glory days once more.
Sky Sports cites Qatari news outlet Al Raya as the source of their claims that Sheikh Jassim’s bid has been chosen ahead of the bid from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS Group. This reportage corroborates the recent hint dropped by former Manchester United captain and current television pundit Rio Ferdinand that the Qatari businessman’s £6 billion bid for the club convinced the Glazers.
Ferdinand also claimed that a disagreement over the sharing formula among the Glazer siblings is the only thing stalling the announcement of the takeover. Speaking on his ‘Vibe with Five’ podcast, he said: “I had some news from a very good source, my great source at Manchester United.
“Things were running quite smoothly and it was going down the right path but then obviously [it hit a bump]. I think the big issue is when you’re dealing with a group of people rather than an individual, it makes things very complex and difficult at times.
“You’re not dealing with one individual with the Glazers – I think Jim Ratcliffe came out and said it. That’s been the issue behind the scenes, I didn’t want to come out and say it, but you’re dealing with siblings in the Glazer family who are there to make a collective decision.
“I don’t think one person can just make a decision on their own, so therefore that makes it very difficult to say yes immediately just like that [clicks fingers]. It’s a process that they have to go through.”
The deal will be made official in the coming hours.
