Two bids submitted before deadline to acquire Manchester United

Manchester United have received two offers to buy the club. Current owners, the Glazer family, previously issued a soft deadline for potential buyers set for Friday.

Ahead of the cut-off date, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani both submitted offers.

Ratcliffe wants to take United back to the top

Ratcliffe is the CEO of chemical company Ineos and is currently worth around $13 billion.

The company released a statement on the potential offer on Saturday. “We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again,” read the statement.

“We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League.”

However, Greenpeace and other environmental groups have recently called on United to reject Ratcliffe’s offer.

Ineos has been ridiculed for their interests in oil, gas, and plastics. The fossil fuel company is reportedly one of the biggest producers of plastics in the UK and also favors fracking.

Qatari consortium also throws their name into the hat

Much like Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim also claimed to want to bring United back to their former glories. “The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports,” the Qatari consortium said in a statement.

“The vision of the bid is for Manchester United to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world.”

Also similar to Ineos, there are concerns about the Qatari group potentially purchased the team as well. BBC has reported that human rights group Fair Square and LGBTQ+ fan group Rainbow Devils have worries about the bid.

It remains to be seen exactly how much money the two groups offered though.

The Glazers are, however, reportedly asking for around $7 billion to sell the club. Forbes valued the Red Devils at $4.6 billion last May. There is also expected to be more offers for the club as well.

This could potentially cause a bidding war, something that the Glazers would welcome.

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