Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliakus called Manchester United’s bidding process a “farce” after he withdrew his takeover bid on Wednesday.
United announced that their owners, the Glazer family, were considering offers for the club as early as November, including “new investment in the club, sale or other deals”.
A couple of rounds of bidding followed in the new year, with Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani making offers, though up to eight potential buyers were said to have shown interest.
Zilliacus was the third bidder to publicly show interest in March, wanting to buy 50 percent of the club, with the other half bought by supporters who would join the club’s decision-making process.
However, Zilliacus declined to enter the third round of offers as the 69-year-old believes it would prevent any potential owner from investing in United next season.
“I withdrew from the third round of bidding for United,” he tweeted. “Bidding turns into a farce, with [the] The Glazers don’t respect the club.
“Because of the delays, it will be very difficult for any new owner to build a winning team for next season.
Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim and I were ready to negotiate the purchase of United. Instead, the Glazers decided to start a new round. I will not participate in a farce set up to maximize the profits of the sellers at the expense of Manchester United.
— Thomas Zilliacus (@TZilliacus) April 12, 2023
“Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim and I were ready to negotiate to buy United. Instead of, [the] The Glazers decided to start a new round.
“I will not be participating in a farce designed to maximize sellers’ profits at the expense of Manchester United.
Zilliacus’s comments come just a day after United great Gary Neville – a vocal opponent of the current possession – tweeted to lament the Glazers when reports of a third round of bidding surfaced.
Neville wrote: “Making it to the 3rd round is just classless. The market has clearly not given them the answer they want!
“It’s like they made a pact with each other that they won’t pay less than £1bn to each member of the family. (of which 5). If they stay at home after all this, it will be toxic!
Potential buyers of either the entire club or just part of it must put forward additional offers for the next round of takeover negotiations.
Sheikh Jassim is reported to be once again submitting a new bid to buy 100% of the club’s shares, with Ratcliffe reportedly aiming for 69% of the Glazers’ current stake.