Journalist Ben Jacobs has commented on a potential Manchester United takeover, denying speculation about an “approach” to David Beckham.
There have been big changes at Manchester United in recent years.
At the start of 2024, the Glazer family sold a 27% stake in the Premier League giants to INEOS chief executive Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in turn took control of Old Trafford’s football operations.
The deal was worth around £1.25bn and Ratcliffe has since made further investments to increase his share to around 29%, although he has been heavily criticized for his decisions since joining the club.
Mr Ratcliffe inherited the mess and decided to authorize a brutal cost-cutting program to balance the books, although some argue that certain changes are unnecessary, citing mass layoffs, reduced payments to club legends and increased ticket prices.
Recent reports surrounding a potential takeover have been received positively, as this means the British billionaire has quickly become Man United’s bad boy.
It has been claimed that a UAE-based consortium is planning to take over Man United outright and has “approached” several club legends, including David Beckham, over a possible involvement.
Meanwhile, Saudi boxing promoter Turki Al-Sheikh insisted the deal was “progressing”.
However, Jacobs, who has regularly reported on the Man United takeover in recent years, said Al Sheikh’s comments were “misleading” and that Beckham was unlikely to be involved.
“I think the interest in buying Manchester United is coming primarily from the UAE, as has been widely reported,” Jacobs said on the United Stand podcast.
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“This group hasn’t made any offer to the Glazers. They haven’t even negotiated. So while it may be true at the same time that Manchester United are completely in the dark, there is still a consortium that is being built and Turki Al Sheikh’s tweet got everyone excited.”
“The word progress was misleading. And while the consortium may be making progress in terms of where the money is coming from and what that entails, there is not progress between the bidder and Manchester United. In fact, the opposite is true.”
“The Glazer family is still waiting to see if something actually comes to fruition, but it remains to be seen whether they will sell immediately, within the next two years.
“However, within the UAE, what this consortium has been building has gone to former Manchester United legends, including, as I have made clear, Eric Cantona as a possible ambassador rather than an investor. I have heard that David Beckham has also been mentioned.”
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As for Beckham’s fabricated reporting, he said: “I have a lot of respect for other journalists, so I’m not here to criticize anyone’s reporting.
“You may remember when I first brought this up in negotiations, I said that a number of former Manchester United legends had been approached.
“But I have doubts about David Beckham, because when Sheikh Jassim approached David Beckham, and when Qatar 2022 approached David Beckham, he was willing to do something, but only after Qatar won, and only after, not that Sheikh Jassim won.
“So I would be surprised if David Beckham was considering putting his name or support behind potential Manchester United bidders until they got to the point where they actually belonged to the club, and then he might be open to some kind of involvement.”
Meanwhile, there are other Manchester United legends who are prepared to support a consortium even if it doesn’t develop, even if it’s just a publicity stunt, and even if they don’t have any talks with the Glazers. That’s the situation at the moment. Let’s see if it develops. ”
Mr. Jacobs later noted that Mr. Ratcliffe is “less fearful” of losing power because the takeover situation has been “relatively quiet.”
“The lines of communication are so open that I think Ratcliffe agreed to this sale, including the drug clause, and I don’t think the Glazers are too scared that he’s definitely going to leave 100 percent in the next year or two,” Jacobs continued.
“But let’s see if there is a path to a strategic investor. Or let’s see if the consortium simply blows away the dragon’s claw valuation. In that case, we may need to reconsider the positions of all parties.”
“But even though Turki Al Sheikh got everyone so excited, the acquisition front is relatively quiet at the moment.”
