With the deadline fast approaching on Friday for the third round of bidding to buy Manchester United, the Premier League giants’ future seems uncertain.
Reportedly, the Glazers — the current owners of the league — want a world record £6 billion ($7.3 billion) fee — an offer that is yet to be met.
However, despite fans’ concerns that the Glazers could prolong their controversial ownership, Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani is set to submit yet another bid before the deadline passes at 10pm BST time.
ESPN reported that the Qatar-backed Sheikh remains confident that his bid will be successful.
The Qatari banker and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe — who is fronting INEOS — are the front runners in the race to buy United.
When they first invited external investment in November, the Glazers — who have been unpopular with fans since they saddled the club with debt in a £790 million leveraged takeover in 2005 — appeared ready to cash out at an enormous profit.
Some private equity firms — including Elliot Investment Management and the Carlyle Group — which are in the market for a minority stake allowing the Glazers to retain control and provide the funding for investment in the club’s infrastructure.
According to reports, while Avram and Joel Glazer want to hold on to their stakes in the league, fellow directors Kevin, Bryan and Edward Glazer and Darcie Glazer Kassewitz are open to offloading their shares.
Offers from the second round of bidding last month were believed to have been worth around £5 billion.
That would smash the Premier League record of £2.5 billion paid for Chelsea last year by a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital, with a further £1.75 billion promised in investment in infrastructure and players.
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) has called for a swift conclusion to the process to allow new owners to be in place for the summer transfer window.
“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,” the fans’ group said in a statement.
