If you’re getting sick of the overly protracted, long tedious Manchester United Football Club takeover saga, well, you’re not alone. So is Sheikh Jassim, who issued an ultimatum to the Glazer family, who own the club. The Qatari investment banking mogul submitted a fifth and improved bid, along with an ultimatum.
Sheik Jassim told the Glazers that he needs his answer by Friday. Period.
????| Source close to the Qatari bid: “Sheikh Jassim is absolutely frustrated. The window opens in 2 weeks and Sheikh wants to get this deal done, #mufc are the biggest club in the world and here we are – this has become a JOKE.” [@SkyKaveh]
— centredevils. (@centredevils) June 8, 2023
Good for him. Sheikh Jassim is all of us- long sick and tired of Glazer indecisiveness and flip-flopping. The Qatari Sheikh is also the only potential suitor who is willing to purchase 100% ownership of the club. The Sir Jim Ratcliffe/INEOS led bid would still keep the Glazers on in a minority role.
The Qatari group seems to really be the only one that actually has the best interests of the club in mind. Time is a wasting on the summer transfer window already.
According to The Guardian ” Sheikh Jassim is also conscious that if he is to become the owner it should be as soon as possible to offer Erik ten Hag the optimum time to strengthen his squad in the transfer market.”
And according to Sky Sports, the team behind Sheikh Jassim “will not engage with the process after Friday but this latest offer follows what was called a ‘final offer’ in late April.” In other words, we’ve been down this road before and will probably go down it again.
The Glazers first announced that they were open to the concept of outside investment or full sale way back in November. The bidding process began way back in February. We are all long way past the “fish or cut bait” time.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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