Manchester United will be sold , Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the two countries in the Middle East standing in the line of buyers. United supporter and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has already shown interest in buying the club. Whichever side ultimately wins, ownership will change by April.
According to Reuters, the Glazer family, which owns Manchester United, has accepted offers (bids) for the sale of Manchester United until Friday evening. Ratcliffe was the first to show interest after the owners expressed their desire to sell last November. He formally submitted the proposal yesterday, the BBC reported.
According to AFP, Qatar has also made a formal offer to buy United. A consortium led by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of Qatar's royal family and former prime minister, has bid for 100% ownership of United, a news release said.
Owners of a record 13 Premier League titles, United are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Therefore, bids, investment plans and financing sources of interested parties will be important determinants. According to the Telegraph, United's market value on the stock market as of Thursday was $39.7 million.
Saudi Arabia's interest in buying United is not new, however. According to the Telegraph, Saudi Arabia has twice previously sought to buy the Old Trafford club. However, the matter did not move forward as the Glazer family wanted to sell only 20 percent ownership at the time.
However, Saudi Arabia has already entered the English league. Newcastle United was bought by the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF) last year. There are also links with Manchester United.
Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority signed a strategic partnership agreement with United in 2017, which includes supporting football development towards the country's 'Vision 2030' goals.
According to Bloomberg, United wants to buy Qatar if there is no guarantee of trouble in the future. They currently own the French league team PSG. Messi-Neymar-Mbappe's club is owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), an affiliate of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), owned by the Qatari royal family. They want to make it clear whether the European football authorities will be excluded if they buy United while PSG is the owner.
According to the Telegraph, the Glazer family want a price of around $6 billion for United. However, referring to United's market value of 537 crores, JMW Head of Sports Solicitor Ben Pepi said, 'Prudent investors will not pay more than this. The real value of Manchester United in infrastructure may be as much as 240 million dollars.