“The vision of the bid is for
Manchester United Football Club to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world.
“More details of the bid will be released, when appropriate, if and when the bid process develops.”
How much is the bid?
“Since the Glazers said in November they were effectively putting the club up for sale, the Manchester United share price has doubled. It’s now around $26 today, which means, according to the New York Stock Exchange, Manchester United is worth £3.6bn. The value of the club has effectively doubled. Manchester United is worth more than it has ever been worth before.
“How much is this bid from Qatar? I’m being told that is confidential information. But we should be looking at a figure of what Manchester United is worth according to the New York Stock Exchange. I was told the Qataris wouldn’t overpay for United. My best estimate would be somewhere between £3.5bn and £4.5bn.”
Will this cause an issue with Qatari ownership of Paris St-Germain?
“This is not Qatar buying Manchester United. Qatar Sports Investments own PSG. Will they be allowed to own another football club? I’m being told this has got nothing to do with QSI. This is a private deal. This is somebody who has a lot of money and wants to buy Manchester United.”
How good a deal would this be for the Glazers?
“Whatever you think about the Glazers, if they manage to sell Manchester United for anything like £4bn or £5bn they will have pulled off an incredible investment. They bought Manchester United 17 years ago in a leveraged buyout and I think they only put in £150m-£200m of their own money. They bought United in a deal worth £790m.
“That investment, they could potentially turn into £4bn, £5bn. A lot of that will be tax-free because they moved Manchester United’s registered office from Old Trafford to the Cayman Islands.”
ionigeria.com Nigerian Newspaper
