It has been five months since the Glazers put Manchester United on the market and the fans were relieved as they believe that the Glazers have turned the club into a business. There have been two bids made public, one by Qatar Islamic Bank Chair Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and one by the (CEO) of the INEOS chemicals group Jim Ratcliffe. But the club still hasn’t been sold yet and the fans are asking why.
Discontent with Glazers' approach towards the sale, Finish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has pulled out of the race to buy Manchester United in the third round of bids. The price is reportedly up to $6 billion now but the wait could cost the club and the fans their summer transfer window plans.
Both the Billionaires submitted their second bids last month and there are reports that there will be a third round of bids. Expressing their anger towards the current ownership, Manchester United Supporters Trust released a statement questioning the Glazers for creating an unclear picture for the manager going towards the transfer window.
The statement said, “Erik needs to know what resources he has to spend so he can make the signings the club needs and the whole management resources of the club need to be focused on supporting him in that. That cannot be the case with the future ownership so unclear.”
The Raine Group merchant bank is handling the process of the sale and its future seems unclear. Former Manchester United star Gary Neville also criticized the process and said that it is a shoddy way to run the process and this does not give the new owner a fighting chance to create an impact in the transfer window.
Manchester United have declined to comment on the MUST statement. In Thursday’s Europa League game at Old Trafford, the fans voiced their discontent again as they held up banners that said ‘We want Glazers Out’.
