The UAE consortium reportedly had a “formal takeover approach rejected” by Manchester United in the “past 24 hours”.
There has been a lot of change at Man United in recent years since INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe took charge of football operations at Old Trafford.
In early 2024, Ratcliffe fended off competition from Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim to buy a 27.7% minority stake in the Premier League giants for around £1.25bn.
Mr. Ratcliffe approved the deal with a view to a full acquisition in the future, and then invested further cash to increase his stake to about 29%.
The Glazer family still owns a majority stake in Man United, but they have been pushed into the shadows as Ratcliffe and his team have taken over the day-to-day running of the club.
This was a good move for the Glazer family, as Ratcliffe has been in the spotlight for controversial decisions in recent years. His popularity quickly waned as he authorized a brutal cost-cutting program, made staff redundant, cut payments to club legends and raised ticket prices.
Read: Amorim plans to sacrifice three academy kids to Newcastle ‘on the cheap’ after Ratcliffe pop
Ratcliffe is also planning to build Man United’s new stadium, but it has recently been claimed that he could be forced out of the club.
This is because the Glazer family has the option to sell to a higher bidder, and there is also interest from a UAE consortium.
It was claimed this week that the group had “approached” Man United legends about taking part in a takeover of the club, with potential terms also reportedly being set.
Now, a respected account on X by a “team of five elite reporters” has provided a new update.
They tweeted: “According to our sources, initial talks for a UAE-based consortium 🇦🇪 have been rejected by @ManUtd.”
“A formal approach has been made within the last 24 hours. They believe negotiations can resume. David Beckham could be very key to starting negotiations. The UAE are serious.”
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Earlier this week, football finance expert Kieran Maguire explained why there was a “false flag” amid speculation of a potential takeover.
Maguire claimed: “If the Glazer family had wanted to sell the entire club for $32 a share, they would have done it.
“The fact that nothing is happening speaks for itself. Yes, the stock price is going up and I am monitoring it myself.
“We are still at $16 or $17, but there is a speculative element to this.
“Thus, while Turki Al Sheikh’s comments are interesting, the club has given a pretty strong ‘no’ response and, given that they are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, they need to be careful about what they say publicly.
“So I think what we’re seeing is a bit of a false flag. If someone wants to participate in a bid, Twitter is not the best place to put that information out.”
“Then I’m curious about the motives of some of the people involved.”
