‘Greatest hoax in sports history’: Man Utd sale in doubt as Glazers drop hints of staying put

Sources close to the Manchester United bidding process have cast fresh doubt on whether the Glazers will end up selling the club after all.

Two bids have so far been made public, one from a group of Qatari private investors led by banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and the other from Manchester-born billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company Ineos.

i understands there are “one or two” other bids either in the offing or that have been tabled to Raine, the US bank overseeing any potential sale.

However, two separate insiders have told i that United fans keen to see the back of the Glazers should not count their chickens just yet, with several actions this week casting further doubt over whether they actually want to sell at all.

As i reported two weeks ago, the chances of the Glazers staying put, or at least some family members, has always been on the table. Joel and Avram Glazer, despite the vitriol towards them from supporters, still very much enjoy being involved in the running of the club, from afar.

Buying up the stakes of their four other siblings, who “want out”, is not out of the question. How they would be able to go about doing that, given their lack of finances, always appeared to be a stumbling block.

However, two financiers have put themselves forward to get involved in the process: US-based hedge fund giant Elliott Investment Management and another, only yesterday, has offered to fund a bidder, buyout financier Ares Management Corporation.

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The Qatar bid is very much self-funded and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s intention is not to require outside help to acquire a majority stake in the club.

So the question is whether these two multi-billion-dollar companies are offering to lend money to Avram and Joel Glazer.

What Elliott and Ares are making available, according to a banking insider, comes at a high interest rate, but such a catch to borrowing money has not put the Glazers off before – it is how they are where they are in the first place.

“It could be the greatest hoax in sports history,” one insider said of the prospect of a Glazer buyout. “Why put up the season ticket prices [at Old Trafford for next season] for the first time in 11 years if you are selling up?

“Remember: we haven’t heard a word from them on this yet.”

The silence from the club also maintains the element of mystery about the whole process. Club insiders have told i everyone at Old Trafford has been kept in the dark, with the Glazers and Raine operating independently to find an acceptable buyer.

A buyer is still the preferred option, but only at a price that is suitable to the Glazers. Putting the club up for sale in such a public manner has achieved their main objective – United’s share price has more than doubled since the sales process began.

“It could be just a huge sham, a vanity project to show just how valuable United have become under the Glazers,” another source says.

Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are both confident of becoming the new United owner. The price, at this stage, remains a stumbling block for Ratcliffe, while there is no guarantee Sheikh Jassim will be permitted to become owner, given his links to the state of Qatar, even if the bid is “totally confident” of being cleared to pursue a takeover.

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