In Man Utd news, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS delegation have been described as impressive and sophisticated in their approach to buying Manchester United.
It is felt they made a very good impression when they visited the club last Friday with INEOS set to make a new bid before Wednesday’s 9pm deadline.
The Glazer family will definitely sell the club but only for the right price. If their asking price – believed to be £6bn – is not met, they will raise capital to invest in the club and pay down debt.
More than five bids will be made for Man Utd before the deadline for second offers – and there could be as many as eight.
Based on the level of first-round bids, there are no favourites at the moment although one could emerge after Wednesday’s deadline.
It should not be discounted that the Glazers will keep control of United by agreeing on a minority deal, with the team’s performances improving dramatically and a new strategy now in place.
Selling United will not be an easy decision for them to make as the club is rarely available to buy and it’s unlikely to come on the market for at least another 20 years.
The visit of Sheikh Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani’s delegation and Sir Jim Ratcliffe last Thursday and Friday respectively grabbed the headlines but several other interested parties have visited the club during the past two weeks – and more bidders are also likely to visit next week.
Man Utd News: Ratcliffe won’t pay ‘stupid’ price for Man Utd
Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he will not pay a “stupid” price for Manchester United.
The INEOS chief executive and his team spent six hours at Old Trafford and Carrington last week with meetings finishing at about 4 pm.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 70-year-old said: “How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house? It’s not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint.
“What you don’t want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently.”
However, Ratcliffe, who already owns French club Nice, said his interest in United would be “purely in winning things”, calling the club a “community asset”.
Ratcliffe, 70, was photographed outside Old Trafford after meeting club executives – unlike Sheikh Jassim, who did not visit Manchester personally the previous day.
But sources in the US say talks last Thursday in Manchester between Sheikh Jassim’s Qatari delegation and United executives were positive.
His advisers are now working on putting together a new bid which is expected to be submitted by close of business on Wednesday.
His advisers are now working on putting together a new bid which is expected to be submitted by close of business on Wednesday.
It was previously understood the Qatari bidders were determined not to pay over the odds for the club, but that stance has softened in recent days coinciding with a delegation’s visit to Old Trafford.
A Qatari delegation travelled to Manchester from London by train and received a warm welcome. Talks were held across 10 hours – a lot longer than expected.
Sheikh Jassim and members of his team had been to Old Trafford as fans before, and the focus of this visit was to get a perspective on what they could do with their capital investment regarding infrastructure, youth development and the women’s team.
