Man Utd bidder withdraws as investment ‘no longer makes sense’
The Manchester United takeover saga drags on and the Glazer family have yet to name a preferred bidder more than six months after the club went up for sale
Thomas Zilliacus has pulled out of the race to complete the Man Utd takeover (
Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus says he wants to buy another football club because it “no longer makes sense” to buy Manchester United.
United have been on sale for over six months now and the saga continues unabated with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani leading the way. Ratcliffe is said to have made a bid for a majority stake in the club, worth around £5billion, while Sheikh Jassim made a fifth and final bid for full ownership earlier this week.
However, both offers fall short of the £6bn the Glazer family are aiming for and Zilliacus, who made an initial offer in March, has repeatedly criticized the Glazers’ sales process and demands.
Zilliacus tweeted that he no longer wanted to buy United due to the Glazers’ asking price. “XXI Century Football Capital believes the price of Manchester United has reached a level where investment no longer makes sense,” he tweeted. “We have therefore shifted our focus to other clubs.”
Zilliacus is said to be interested in buying Champions League finalists Inter Milan but says the club is not for sale. “Lately my name has been associated with Inter,” he tweeted.
“It’s a great club with a great history. However, the owner said the club is not for sale. Let’s all respect that and support #Inter in tomorrow’s final. I predict a close win for #nerazzurri.
Zilliacus was previously chairman of his hometown club HJK Helsinki and had suggested offering his fans the chance to buy a 50/50 stake in United with him. “In Scandinavia, most clubs are majority fan-owned,” he told Mirror Football in March.
“I really want to reverse the development that is happening in the Premier League in a way.” I’ve been concerned for a long time about the way clubs are run in Europe and I don’t like it. Nothing against people from other parts of the world, but many of these recent acquisitions were made like buying a yacht or luxury property instead of a football club, and the owners forgot the fans.
Who should United keep or sell? Vote below…
“They don’t understand the tradition or the history of football as well as we do because we grew up here. So I decided to submit a bid where I would include equal fans. It’s not about getting them to donate money – there’s money in the world for good causes – it’s about making them feel like they’re really part of the club and that they are present in the decision-making process.”