There has been a lot of talk over potential new investment at Old Trafford with more details of a potential deal now emerging
Manchester Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Etihad Stadium.
There has been a lot of talk over a potential takeover at Man Utd over the last few days
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Talk of a potential new takeover at Manchester United continues to dominate headlines with Saudi billionaire Turki Al-Sheikh providing another update.
This week, Al-Sheikh prompted a social media frenzy by writing on X: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor… I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”
He has since gone on to clarify his message. On Thursday night he again posted on X saying: “My yesterday’s post about Manchester United's potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor.
“Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I'm posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.”
As reported by MEN Sport, the club have been surprised at the claim. It has also been claimed that a bid starting at around £5.2 billion is needed to tempt the Glazers to consider selling.
A further update has now emerged with talkSPORT sharing new details. The report claims that the group being referred to by Al-Sheikh are based in the United Arab Emirates and that several club legends have also been 'approached'.
It is also noted that potential investors can speak to the Glazer family directly about a potential takeover. A clause in the deal between Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers stipulates that he will be required to sell his shares or match any offer if an interested party makes an offer that is accepted.
The talk of a potential deal comes just a matter of hours after Ratcliffe gave an interview to the Times’ The Business Podcast, where he hinted at his long-term plans.
Speaking about the recent budget cuts, he said: “The more cash you've got, the better squad you can build.
“It’s like a Formula One car - the better car you can build, the quicker you go. The better your squad, the better your football should be.
“So a lot of what we've done in the first year is spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing. If you look at our results for last year, we have the highest revenues ever. Profitability, the second highest ever.
“We're not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we've done in this set of results, and we weren't in the Champions League. Those numbers will get better. Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view, and from that will stem, I hope, a long-term, sustainable, high-level of football.”
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