The stakes in what could be the most lucrative deal in sports history are being raised with Saudi Arabia having joined the race to buy Manchester United ahead of the nominal deadline, according to a report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
The Glazer family who completed their took over of the 20-times English champions in 2005 had finally announced in November that they were open to a sale or offers to invest, which subsequently led to British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company officially joining the race to buy the club last month, making them the only bidder to publicly declare an interest so far.
Numerous suggestions were swirling around of a possible Qatar bid, with The Guardian reporting that the state’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, was keen to buy United, just weeks after the mega-affluent Gulf nation had successfully hosted the World Cup.
It is now understood that brokers acting on behalf of the club will be obliged to consider offers even after Friday’s ‘soft’ deadline expires as United’s shares are being traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Glazers had initially signalled their intentions were open to both minority investment and a full takeover, with the latter option now appearing to be their preferred game plan going forward.
Being deeply unpopular with supporters after having saddled the club with massive debts in a £790 million (US$961 million) leveraged takeover in 2005, the Glazers further exacerbated the sitation by backing the failed European Super League project in 2021.
Sources close to Saudi’s £515-billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) had pooh-poohed the likelihood of the state backing the regime’s bid given their current involvement at rival Premier League club, Newcastle United, according to The Telegraph.
Apparently the Glazers are asking £6 billion for the three-time European champions, which would obliterate the record fee for a football club set by Chelsea last year when a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital paid £2.5 billion for the Blues with a further £1.75 billion promised in further investment in the form of infrastructure and players.
Any Saudi Arabian investment at United would prompt outrage from human rights groups who have spoken out against the Gulf state.
A Qatari takeover would be opposed on similar grounds, with Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK’s economic affairs director, saying it would represent “a continuation of this state-backed sportswashing project.”
A successful Qatari bid would no doubt instigate further outrage and international dissent amongst human rights groups pertaining to the issue of sportswashing following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as raise unwanted sporting questions, given that the Emirate also controls one of the club’s European rivals, Paris Saint-Germain.
Manchester United have not graced the winner’s podium in the Premier League since 2013 and have failed to win any silverware since 2017.
They currently sit third in the Premier League this season after a distinct improvement in form under manager Erik ten Hag, who took over before the start of the current campaign.