Manchester United takeover ‘set to be DELAYED until May because of indecision among the Glazers’

The Manchester United takeover will be delayed until May and the Glazer family are reportedly expecting a £6bn offer after initial offers from Qatari investors and Sir Jim Ratcliffe came in at a maximum £4.5bn. millions.

An offer from Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, which is for full control, and an offer from British billionaire Ratcliffe to take a majority stake were put forward a fortnight ago, but hopes of concluding a deal by the end of March look dim. likely. .

According to the GuardianIt is said that there is indecision among the six Glazer brothers and each member of the family has their own intentions around the sale of Manchester United.

However, the report states that while the family’s wish is to sell the club, a deal is now in doubt and will be agreed by the end of the month and will be delayed until after the end of the season.

It comes after Sportsmail reported on Monday that bidders for the Old Trafford club expect to hear back from those in charge of the process this week.

Sportsmail understands that US commercial bankers, the Raine Group, will contact those who have submitted offers to buy or make an investment in the Premier League giants in the coming days, according to those with knowledge of the situation.

The development comes after another difficult few days for the club’s share price. The figure skyrocketed when this newspaper revealed that an offer from Qatar would be submitted earlier this month.

However, following reports that the owners, the Glazer family, are considering retaining control of United at one stage on Sunday, the price had fallen by around 13 percent.

A ‘soft deadline’ for bids fell on February 17. Raine has been reviewing the offers before the next process. Candidates are expected to have access to United’s full financials after they are given a look after their initial expressions of interest.

Early offers are unlikely to be accepted, with a set negotiation period to follow. There is a belief that the Glazers are seeking around £6bn, a valuation that some see as unrealistic.

As with the bidding process for the sale of Chelsea, also overseen by Raine, it is possible that some of the groups involved will contact each other to form consortia.

Anti-Glazer sentiment has been commonplace at United games this season, but the volume increased during the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, with Avram Glazer in attendance.

As United neared their first trophy in five seasons, loud chants of ‘We want Glazers gone’ could be heard from the United section, while some carried anti-Glazer banners.

Aside from the offers to take over the club, there are investment offers that Avram and his brother Joel could theoretically use to pay the other four members of the family and rebuild Old Trafford and the club’s training ground.

How that would affect supporters remains to be seen. Following United’s support of the later aborted European Super League, their match with Liverpool on 21 May was abandoned when protesting fans managed to storm Old Trafford.

Al-Thani, the son of a former prime minister and chairman of one of Qatar’s largest banks, is believed to have watched the game with his family at his home in Doha. He is known as a United fan and friends of his say he wears the club’s shirt in weekly five-a-side matches.

Meanwhile, Sportsmail understands there is some consternation among several of the bidders that they have yet to receive a response after the deadline.

That sentiment was exacerbated by reports over the weekend that offers for the club were below the Glazers’ valuation, which came after Raine told those in the process to stay put. dumbed down.