Today is D-Day in the battle for Manchester United.
Sealed bids from some of the planet’s richest people are due to land by 10pm — 5pm in New York, home of merchant bankers Raine, who will sift through the offers in the coming days.
Qatar appear to be the huge favourites in a bidding war that could reach £6billion, but all the serious contenders will be invited to talks to seal the most lucrative deal in the history of sport.
Here, MIKE KEEGAN looks at who could be in the running…
The possible bidders
QATAR
We revealed last week that a group of private individuals from Qatar want United – and insiders remain confident that theirs will be the strongest bid.
Money won’t be an issue. While they may want to put distance between themselves and other Qatari entities, it is worth nothing that QIA – the nation’s sovereign wealth fund – is worth a mind-blowing £368bn.
Those involved are ready to arm Erik ten Hag with a vast transfer budget and given the Qataris are also fresh from hosting a World Cup with seven new stadiums, they possess the knowledge and wealth to either rebuild or revamp Old Trafford.
SAUDI ARABIA
Could Qatar’s neighbours and sworn rivals make a bid? It is an intriguing prospect. Groups from Saudi signed confidentiality agreements to enter the ‘data room’, which allowed them to take a look at United’s financials.
A bidding war between Saudi and Qatar would be the stuff of dreams for the Glazers. However, those close to the process think it is unlikely.
The Saudis are fresh from a £300m takeover of Newcastle United which is going very well. Muddying the water – even if they could present this as a separate group – is not expected.
UK
Flying the flag for the UK is Sir Jim Ratcliffe the first bidder to officially announce their intentions. Ratcliffe claims to be a boyhood United fan and is the owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos.
He also has many sporting interests already, having bought cycling giants Team Sky – now rebranded Team Ineos – and holding a significant stake in Mercedes F1.
However, while he is Britain’s richest man, he is not in the same ballpark as some of his expected rivals. Ratcliffe is thought to be worth around £21bn. He has enlisted a number of banks, including Goldman Sachs, to help fund his bid.
US
A number of groups from the US have expressed an interest although their identity is being kept under wraps. ■ Elon Musk, the tech billionaire Twitter and Tesla owner – and United fan – is known to be monitoring the situation. He is valued at £157bn and may even be asked to front another group of investors.
The pool of those Stateside who could fund a deal of this size is not large. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos is behind Musk in the rich list, with his fortune valued at £100bn.
CHINA AND REST OF THE WORLD
There is interest from China and Singapore and – given United’s global appeal – it would be foolish to write off bids from elsewhere.
United have previously targeted the huge Chinese market and even opened a ‘Theatre of Dreams’ entertainment facility close to Tiananmen Square.
Chinese owners elsewhere have experienced issues getting money out of the country but United would be a different prospect.
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What you would be getting for your £6BILLION!
Revenue: £600m
That’s what United expect this year. In 2021-22 Manchester City, Real Madrid and Liverpool were the only football clubs worldwide to generate more and United’s new owners will believe they can see the figure rocket.
The club claim to have 659m fans across the world – almost a tenth of the global population. The buyers will inherit a huge database and will aim to monetise as many supporters as possible.
Squad: £759m
Estimated value of the current playing squad. And with Erik ten Hag seemingly moving the team in the right direction following years of underachievement, the new owners will expect this to rise over the coming years too.
Major trophies: £45m
A record for an English club. From their first league title in 1908 to the Europa League win in 2017, this unrivalled tally – which includes 20 league titles, three European Cups and 12 FA Cups- is clearly a huge part of why United are so prized.
That success can also be monetised – with the potential of selling your own content via broadcast deals, the sky is the limit.
Net debt: £515m
United were debt-free before the Glazer family took over in 2005 but securing an agreement that involves this debt being paid off – either by the new owners after the takeover or the unpopular Glazers as part of the deal – would appeal to fans.
Stadium bill: £1bn?
That’s what it might cost to expand 76,000-seat Old Trafford.
Last month United were presented with the rough cost of revamping the stadium – or building a new one, which would cost even more. But buyers will get a vast swathe of land surrounding the ground in an area ripe for redevelopment.
Want to build Manchester United World? No problem.
P.S. United aren’t the only club up for sale!
Last year it emerged Liverpool’s US owners are open to selling part or all of the club and last month Farhad Moshiri put Everton on the market too.
And just this week Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi launched a £3bn bid for Tottenham…