Cristiano Ronaldo, dropped a huge bombshell with his interview with Piers Morgan. The then 37 year old star was perhaps having the worst time of his near two decade career. Ronaldo, came back to Manchester United after a last minute hijack from his former teammates which prevented him to going across to city rivals Manchester City. 18 months later, the romance had faded as the Portugal star called out the Manchester United owners The Glazer Family. This happened just before the 2022 FIFA World Cup which was to be held.
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(Picture Courtesy - Marca.Com)
The Glazers as they feared got a huge public backlash, and much to the surprise, reprieve or even relief of many Manchester United Fans, had decided to do the unthinkable. Joel and Avram Glazer had decided to look for "Strategic Alliances " or put the club up for sale. This was in November 2022 as Avram Glazer was seen visiting Qatar.
The Con-Job Begins
In the 8 months since the club has been put up for Sale or possible strategic alliance, the Glazers have showed no interest in engaging the fans. The reason for this being, the two brothers, Avram and Joel have no interest on moving on from the club. Rest of the Glazer siblings want to move on and cash in while the offer stand. One of the reasons being touted for Joel and Avram's reluctance is a possible re-visit of thoughts for the European Super League.
This was the European Super League which saw massive protests break out during their height of COVID-19, when football was played behind closed doors. The agitated fans stormed the pitch of Old-Trafford before the game against Liverpool, which saw the game being ultimately being pushed back. This action is set to have rattled the Glazers to a fair extent, and this prompted Joel Glazer to promise to engage more with the fan groups, a promise which has not been followed up on.
(Picture Courtesy - Sky Sports)
Jim Rattcliffe and Shaikh Jassim Al Thani Enters The Fray -
Noted British billionaire, Jim Rattcliffe was one of the earliest movers to lay his claim to Manchester United. After the initial belief of the 70-year-old buying the whole club, Ratcliffe spectacularly said that he would keep the Glazer siblings and buy only a percentage of the club.
On the other hand, Shaikh Jassim Al Thani the big wig from Qatar too threw in his hat and wanted to buy 100% of the club. The Qatar bid was simple, give us 100% of the club and take the valuation which we feel is best for the club and close to what you had valued the club for.
Greed comes into play -
As per Industry experts, the overall valuation of Manchester United is just above 4 Billion, while the Glazers want 6 Billion. The Qataris do not want to over pay for a product which is nowhere near the price it has been quoted for. Raine Group, which has been helping/advising the Glazers on the sale process seemingly have put up this amount. One has to ask themselves, where did the Glazers come to his number from? is it a billion each for the 6 siblings, plus the overhead liabilities left for the Qataris to figure out?
Do the Glazers even want to sell?
Its been over 50 days since the last big update regarding the sale has come about. Every Manchester United fan channel on YouTube have done shows on the same. The lead-in caption is either "Sale Is Near" or No-Sale.
From the looks of it, The Glazers have pulled a huge one on every fan who anticipated the Americans to leave after 18 years. It seems it was all a ruse, a ploy to check the temperature before deciding to stay home or go out. The Glazers, namely Joel and Avram have been facing strong backlash at home as rest of the four glazers want to sell.
The sale was supposed to be completed by Easter,2023. We are now in the end of July as a new season of football is upon us. The Glazers are still the owners and seem in no hurry to head back to their homeland after destroying the single biggest club in the world. It seems they aren't satisfied with the destruction, they want to pour some more salt into the wounds and how are they doing that you will find out.
Carrot and Stick approach during the transfer window -
Erik Ten Hag performed a miracle when he led a tired Manchester United to third place, a win in the Carabao Cup and the finals of the FA CUP. The Third place finish meant that Manchester United returned to UEFA Champions League after season's absence.
The Manager wanted to buy Harry Kane and Kim Min Jae, the two being key to Ten Hag's second season. United had seen Wout Weghorst struggle to score goals during his loan spell post the January Transfer window. Kim Min Jae was needed to bolster the backline in a bid to provide competition for Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
Kim Min Jae was pouched by Bayern Munich while Harry Kane will not be let to leave for Manchester United by Daniel Levy. United have so far made two purchases in Mason Mount and Andre Onana, while Onana was ETH's preferance, there is debate raging about Mount's purchase. There are deals close for Sofiyan Amrabat and Rasmus Hojlund as well.
All these are perhaps used as a cannon fodder to lead the Manchester United fans to believe that the Glazers are perhaps not to be blamed. The two siblings may be want the best for Manchester United at the core of their heart. A sale to Qatar is possibly a bad idea!! well sorry to burst the bubble but this is nothing but a confidence building measure.
The Glazers have always tried to mislead the fans in the form of buying players and make themselves look good. Here is the simple fact, at 20 Hojlund is a future but he isn't Mbappe or Haaland. Mason Mount is a good English prospect but he isn't what Manchester United needed this season.
What do the Glazers want?
The message from Joel and Avram is simple, and it has something in it for both the suitors, Jim Ratcliffe and Shaikh Jassim AL Thani.
To Ratcliffe the message is simple, we want to stay and take up on your offer of retaining our power while you buy out our other siblings. Ratcliffe, is more than content to play the waiting game and dance to the tune of the Glazer siblings.
To Al -Thani the tone of the Glazers seems to be a bit tough and it reads, if you want us gone, pay us 6 billion and you can have the club. The tone softened once Al-Thani came up with his own retort with a final bid which he has left on the table.
When will the club be sold?
Here is a statutory warning, do not go by anything you see on Twitter or on YouTube Channels. The answer is simple, no one knows a thing. Nor the fans, nor the players, nor the manager or for that matter even the two suitors.
The two Glazer brothers seem to be taking their own sweet time in deciding their next course of action. Apparently they have told both the suitors for the club to be ready as the answer and decision could come anytime soon. This could drag on for weeks or even months, because when it comes to Glazers and MUFC there is always few speed bumps along the way.
Conclusion -
If you are still reading this piece and are an ardent Manchester United fan, here is one advise. Do not hold your hopes too high. You may see the Glazers for a while as their greed knows no bounds. The two brothers do not hold the interests of Manchester United or its fans close to their heart. Its their interest that bothers them, otherwise how would you explain Dividends being taken out during the height of COVID-19 when other clubs and its owners had done everything in their power to be more in-tune with the players and their fans.
Will Glazers sell? Perhaps. Will they stay on? More than likely. Are the two brothers a living embodiment of greed? A huge and resounding yes.
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