Earlier this weekend, there was a significant breakthrough in the proposed sale of Manchester United, with the Glazers opting against Sheikh Jassim’s proposal of acquiring the club outright.
On Saturday evening, it was reported that Sheikh Jassim had pulled out of the race to buy the club after his latest proposal, believed to be well over market value for 100% of the club, was rejected out of hand by the American businessmen.
Just minutes later, it emerged that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim’s direct rival in the race to buy the club, had made significant headway in his bid. It was reported that Ratcliffe is set to acquire 25% of the club and the deal would ratified in a meeting this week.
Now, more details are being reported in the press and although supporters will be disappointed to learn that the Glazers will remain at the club, the latest news could be welcomed.
According to the Telegraph, Ratcliffe will assume control of the club’s football operations as part of the deal and that could explain why he was willing to purchase 25% of the club at that price point, believed to be £1.35bn.
As reported earlier, Ratcliffe is eying majority ownership in the future and will seek out clauses that enable him to usurp the Glazers as shareholders eventually.
There is, however, a clause in this proposed deal that will see Ratcliffe oversee football operations but it remains to be seen what that entails and whether he will be able to run the club as he pleases.
It’s unlikely that the Glazers will take a backseat fully as they will still own a significant portion of the shares.