Man Utd takeover: American billionaire emerges as potential buyer

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 28 Jul 2023 13:35 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United may have a new owner in Boston Celtics' Stephen Pagliuca.

The American private equity investor has confirmed that he is assessing options to make an approach in an unnamed Premier League club.

The Glazers put the club up for sale last November but are yet to announce a preferred bidder as the takeover saga has rumbled on.

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The two biggest bidders at the table are Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, both of whom are the frontrunners.

Pagliuca, who also has a 55 per cent stake in Serie A club Atalanta, recently told Bloomberg about his hope of purchasing a side that are capable of qualifying for the Champions League.

He said: "A league like the Premier League, if three or four teams are owned by a sovereign with basically unlimited investment, to be in the Champions League there is basically only one spot left for the other 16 teams that don't have those kind of resources.

"We're assessing opportunities [in the Premier League]. I think there's a higher bar there than there would have been, in terms that you have to be sure you have an academy and a structure where you can keep up with the economic disparity.

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"But it's an ongoing process and we'd very much like to do it. To be custodians of one of the biggest sporting teams, brands, in the world and trying to really support the team and go back to the success they deserve. And also the fanbase."

Erik ten Hag’s transfer plans hampered

The takeover saga has held up some of Erik ten Hag’s transfer plans for this window.

The Dutchman missed out on some £50m that he would have received if a takeover went through earlier and the debt was cleared.