Manchester United have received two offers to buy the club. The current owners, the Glazer family, previously issued a flexible deadline for potential buyers set for Friday.
Before the deadline, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar submitted offers.
Ratcliffe wants to take United back to the top
Ratcliffe is the CEO of the chemical company Ineos and currently has a fortune of around $13 billion.
The company issued a statement about the possible offer on Saturday. “We are ambitious and highly competitive and would like to invest in Manchester United to make it the number one club in the world once again,” the statement read.
“We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North West of England, putting Manchester United back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League.”
However, Greenpeace and other environmental groups have recently called on United to reject Ratcliffe’s offer.
Ineos has been ridiculed for its interests in oil, gas and plastics. The fossil fuel company is reportedly one of the biggest producers of plastics in the UK and also favors fracking.
The Qatari consortium also puts its name in its hatLike Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim also claimed to want to return United to its former glory. “The offering will be completely debt-free through Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, training center, stadium and broader infrastructure, fan experience and communities that the club supports,” the Qatari consortium said. in a sentence.
“The vision of the bid is for Manchester United to be recognized for its footballing excellence and regarded as the best football club in the world.”
Also similar to Ineos, there are concerns about the possibility of the Qatari group buying the team as well. The BBC has reported that human rights group Fair Square and LGBTQ+ fan group Rainbow Devils are concerned about the bid.
However, it remains to be seen exactly how much money the two groups offered.
However, the Glazers are reportedly asking around $7 billion to sell the club. Forbes valued the Red Devils at $4.6 billion last May. It is also expected that there will be more offers for the club.
This could cause a bidding war, something the Glazers would appreciate.
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