For just the second time, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has spoken publicly about the Glazer family potentially selling the club. That’s one more than the Glazers have! Actually, you could say it’s two more, because the Glazers only released a vague, corporate jargon style statement, back in November.
The Glazer siblings still haven’t had any real, substantial public conversation about a process so ridiculously protracted that it’s now dragging on into its ninth month.
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The Dutchman believes that this USA exhibition tour trip could provide a good opportunity to speak with the club’s American owners face-to-face, in person and heart-to-heart. The real estate mogul family is based in Florida.
“[The takeover] is a club decision,” Ten Hag said at his first press conference of the U.S. tour
“I’m more often in contact with them [the Glazers] so this is a good opportunity to share ideas and we can talk informally. It is obvious I can give advice and recommendations but the decision is on the club.”
So where do we stand right now on the MUFC Takeover process?
Are the Glazers going to finally make a sale, or no sale decision, after receiving multiple bids from British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim?
Ratcliffe, although not officially eliminated from the running, has a bid that is reportedly dead in the water.
Sheikh Jassim, the only bidder offering a full takeover that would oust the Glazers entirely, is said to be in pole position and he is no doubt the favorite among club supporters. There have been reports claiming that only Sheikh Jassim has rights to bid/negotiate with the Glazers at this point, but we’ll see.
Again, nothing seems to have happened on this for a long time. The Glazers, who might even end up staying, have made sure that this takeover process moves with the speed of a dying tortoise on a glacier. And it all could end up in court anyway.
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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