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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Steven Railston

Manchester United fans' biggest fear about takeover and the Glazers is being realised

Avram Glazer looked straight ahead and briskly walked past the journalists to his right in the Wembley mixed zone on Sunday.

After watching Manchester United play in the Women's FA Cup final, he was heading for the exit doors, but a reporter managed to ask: "How long is the sale going to take?" Avram ignored the question.

The Glazers are hardly known for being expert communicators and the mixed zone snub was no surprise.

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When Avram was approached in Florida in November following the announcement that the club was for sale, he was left with no choice but to respond and he suggested the takeover process would take as long as was necessary.

He used the word 'process' twice in as many sentences and, of course, takeovers of such magnitude are bound to take time, but six months have passed since the club was placed on the market and the uncertainty is rumbling on into the summer.

The Glazers' critics have accused them of being clowns on multiple occasions and the sale has appropriately become a circus, with two bids valuing the club in excess of £5billion submitted this year, yet no indication of which offer the maligned owners are more likely to accept, if they are indeed going to sell up at all.

The Raine Group is overseeing the sale on behalf of the Glazers and there have been multiple rounds of bidding between Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani of Qatar, but an immediate sale does not seem close.

Although both sides have preached confidence behind their respective bids, the process being so public has been concerning, as there is a suspicion the Glazers could be playing Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim off each other to drive a higher price.

In addition, the general rule with takeovers is they won't be heard about until they are completed, as such is the wealth required to complete a transition for a Premier League club, non-disclosure agreements are signed in the boardroom.

When a deal reaches the latter stages, briefings and leaks are legally forbidden. The Glazers haven't even named a preferred bidder yet and their desire for the best possible deal is leaving Erik ten Hag, club staff and supporters in a difficult position.

The Glazers are said to want £6bn for United. Considering the club is saddled with around £1bn of debt, that valuation is ambitious and both Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are understood to have made offers short of that fee.

Both offers are thought to value the club at around £5.5bn and are certainly more than fair. There is debt that needs to be cleared, the stadium needs to be knocked down or redeveloped and Carrington needs attention.

Decent custodians would look to complete a sale quickly but 18 years of neglect have already shown the Glazers are not decent owners. Their egregious decision-making has proved they do not have the club's best interest at heart.

It's unfair to everyone connected with United, although the Glazers have never given the impression of respecting what others might think. They are, once again, serving themselves and viewing United as their commodity.

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