Glazers to stay? Why Sheikh Jassim’s FOURTH Man Utd takeover bid may fail

Ronan Murphy

• 17 May 2023 09:30 BST
• 3 min read

The fourth bid launched by Sheikh Jassim may fail as it is still short of the Glazer’s asking price for Manchester United.'

The Qatari group made a dramatic fourth bid for the Premier League giants on Tuesday night, according to numerous reports.

It’s thought that it was an improved offer of no more than £5.5 billion. The bid also includes the clearance of the £1bn debt that the club are in.

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It will also be put in solely for the club and the surrounding community in west Manchester.

But even still, his bid falls short of the Glazers’ valuation of £6b - meaning they could see it rejected.

The American family, who have owned the club for 18 years, have dragged out the process of the sale to the point where it is to the detriment of the club’s upcoming season.

Any deal that is struck would have to be signed off by the directors and owners test by the Premier League - and this could take a matter of months.

This would, therefore, impede the transfer window for Man Utd. They would have to contend with having limited funds to push on for a title challenge next season.

Lengthy process

It’s been two weeks since Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe made what was supposed to be their final offers - and yet the saga has continued and shows no signs of being completed before the end of the season.

The Qatari banker’s offer was for a 100 per cent stake, clearing the club of debt. Whereas Ratcliffe’s was thought to be for a stake of a little over 50 per cent - with Avram and Joel Glazer collecting 20 per cent each.

Erik ten Hag has openly spoken about the need for significant funds for the upcoming window and what is needed for the next campaign.

But the Dutchman may be hamstrung by the ongoing takeover process as well as Finacial Fair Play regulations.