Manchester United will be the subject this week of a £6bn takeover bid from Qatari investors – and their plans include an insane transfer budget for Erik ten Hag and potential plans to completely rebuild Old Trafford.
The unpopular Glazer family have been United’s owners since 2005, buying the Red Devils for £790m. Their reign though has been marked by a number of supporter protests unhappy at the way the club is run. And while performances off the field have soared, the club are now 10 years without a Premier League title.
As a result, it was revealed back in November that the Glazers were looking for either investors or even a full-blown sale. The latter valued the club at anything between £6bn – £8bn.
A number of potential owners have come to the fore, not least Britain’s second wealthiest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. With him came whispers of a move for one of the world’s greatest players in Kylian Mbappe.
However, no bid has yet been forthcoming from Ratcliffe. And it seems his delay has opened the doors for a seriously-wealthy group of Qatari investors to buy into the club.
Per the Daily Mail, the group are not associated with QSI, the owners of Paris Saint-Germain.
And the new group wants to turn United – who they see as one of ‘football’s crown jewels’ into the world’s biggest club.
They plan to make their offer public in the next few days. And it will come just ahead of the mid-February deadline set by the Glazers.
And the group are seemingly confident of success, with their takeover bid set to blow all the competition out the water.
New Man Utd owners to give Ten Hag unlimited transfer funds
Their plans for the club include potentially knocking Old Trafford to the ground and rebuilding a new state of the art facility the envy of world football. Supporters are likely to be included though in any such plans, given the history of the famous old ground.
Such a project would cost around £2bn; not that the money would be an issue for the Qatari group.
As an alternative, the new would-be owners could instead look to redevelop the ground instead. Either way, Old Trafford will be due some sort of facelift that could ultimately bring it on a par, or even surpass, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fan engagement though is key and the new group wants to ensure they are at the heart of any major decision around the club.
However, the biggest change of all could come within the playing squad.
The new owners want to provide Ten Hag with a transfer warchest aimed at signing the world’s elite stars. That will reportedly allow United to prise football’s very best to the club, with money no object for United.
Man Utd takeover plans could see Man City dethroned
To that end, Ten Hag will be allowed the freedom to potentially sign any player of his wish to return United to the pinnacle of English and European football. As such, the recent duopoly enjoyed by Manchester City and Liverpool could soon come crashing to a halt.
City are the reigning Premier League champions and have won four of the last five titles. But their domination could end if the new group get their way.
“There are significant funds available,” they said. “These people are serious. They want to make sure that United are where they should be. And they are confident theirs will be the strongest bid.
“They want to strengthen the squad to put them back at the top. But they also want this to be for the good of the community.
“They also want to build on the success of the World Cup. They recognise that Manchester United is the biggest football club in the world, the crown jewels.
“There is a steely-minded determination to buy it and get it to where it should be.”
A successful takeover bid will also see United and City form a new Qatar-Abu Dhabi rivalry. It would also see them go up against Saudi Arabian-owned Newcastle United, with the Gulf neighbours fierce rivals.
The group at this stage remains anonymous. However, the Mail points out that the Emir of Qatar, head of its absolute monarchy, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is a committed United fan who is well aware of the club’s history.
Any takeover bid would need Premier League approval and would be subject to fierce scrutiny.
