Last November, it was announced that the Glazer family were putting Manchester United up for sale, and since then, they have received several bids.
The two front runners to purchase the Red Devils are Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim and INEOS’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Jassim is interested in 100% ownership, whereas Ratcliffe is happy with keeping the Glazers on board with a reduced stake of 20%.
And while it has recently appeared that Sheikh Jassim was coming to a head with his £6 billion purchase, other reports state otherwise.
According to Sky Sports Kaveh Solhekol via Football365, the Glazers are pulling a 180 and unsure of whether they want to sell.
“A significant number of people involved in the process believe the Glazer family are not all committed to selling the club. Different members of the Glazer family own United and they are not all on the same page,” Solhekol told Sky Sports.
“There have been reports that the Qataris are close to buying Manchester United, they would be delighted if that was the case. But I think, as far as they are concerned, nothing has changed. They are willing buyers but they are not convinced that the Glazers are willing sellers – and to do a deal, you have to have a buyer and a seller.
“The price has to be right for the Glazers to sell and it is generally accepted that they want at least £6 billion. The bidders are willing to overpay to buy a trophy asset like United but they are not going to be taken for fools when it comes to valuation.
“From the Glazer’s point of view, they will also be considering the school of thought in US banking circles at the moment that English clubs are undervalued and now is the time to buy, not the time to sell.”
Sheikh Jassim may be thinking he’s made leeway on negotiations, but apparently, nothing has changed.
Instead, the Glazer family believe that now is the time to buy and not to sell the club.
So even if Sheikh Jassim is offering their asking price of £6 billion, we might not be seeing a sale as soon as we were led to believe.
