The Athletic has reported that Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer has held talks with investors from Qatar and Saudi Arabia during his trip to the World Cup in Doha.
Recent developments come after the Glazers decided to put the club up for sale in early November.
The report claims that the Raine Group, which is United’s financial adviser, is looking to sell the club in the first quarter of 2023 with an estimated price between £6bn and £7bn.
Although the nature of Glazer’s trip to Doha is unknown, the club’s co-owner has other business interests in the Gulf nation.
Despite recent ownership by Manchester City and Newcastle United, both owned by groups in the Middle East, United’s financial assessment could turn investors off.
However, Glazer had previously mentioned that the club’s sale process was “moving forward” during his trip to Qatar.
After watching France beat Morocco 2-0 in the second World Cup semi-final, he said: “It’s not necessarily a sale, it’s a process and we’re going to go through with the process, so we’ll see what happens. That is the update, it is the process and the process continues”.
Although it is unclear who Glazer would meet in the VIP or VVIP box at Al-Bayt Stadium, it is believed that guests in this section are typically reserved for the state of Qatar, FIFA and the governing body’s business partners.
Avram Glazer had previously bought a cricket franchise in the United Arab Emirates T20 cricket league and there have been previous discussions about possible investment in Manchester United after talks with Dubai-based investment funds.
Interestingly, the talks came after Saudi Prime Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said he hoped his compatriots would invest in either United or arch-rivals Liverpool, the latter of which is also up for sale.
Regarding possible investments, he said: “I hope so, if there are investors and the numbers add up, and a good business is done. Then the private sector could enter, or companies from the kingdom could enter ”.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world. The whole world is watching the Premier League. It is the most watched league and there are die-hard fans of these teams in the kingdom. So it would be a benefit for everyone.”
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