Manchester United has attracted serious interest and may be sold after the deadline for submitting offers is set in mid-February.
This is according to James Ducker of The Telegraph, who says that several groups from the Middle East, America and Asia have shown serious interest in acquiring the club.
Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, also supports the interest, having previously stated his desire to acquire the Premier League club, even betting on Chelsea before it was acquired by the Todd Pain consortium.
It is assumed that the Glazers will inform interested parties that proposals for both full buyout and minority stakes will be considered.
This leaves the door open for the controversial family to retain control in some capacity, which will certainly annoy fans.
Seventeen years under the yoke of Glazer led to the fact that the club was in dire need of improving the infrastructure, lagging far behind its rivals.
But this will not dissuade bidders, and it is expected that over the next few weeks the leaders, as well as possible losers, will announce their interest.
In addition to Ratcliffe, Qatar Sports Investments and investors from Saudi Arabia were considered as possible bidders, but in any case, competing interests — due to the fact that they own Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United, respectively – practically exclude a full buyout.
But with serious interest from Asia, other Gulf countries and America, there will be no shortage of candidates to remove the Glazers from Old Trafford once and for all.
It is reported that the amount requested by the Tampa Bay family ranges from 6 to 9 billion pounds – ultimately, this is a figure that can only be guessed at at this stage.
Ratcliffe, known for his caution about overpayments, is unlikely to enter the fray before the end of the bidding process, as he did with Chelsea.
By then, United fans should have had enough time to figure out what opponents he would face.
Finally, there seems to be a clear and real chance that Manchester United without Glazer can exist again.
