Finnish tech entrepreneur pulls out of Manchester United bid process calling it a “farce”

Media claims that Glazers are preparing to invite a third round of bids. For the sake of United let’s hope it is not true. There are 3 serious bidders. Negotiate with them face to face until a deal is reached. This has been going on too long already.

— Thomas Zilliacus (@TZilliacus) April 11, 2023

I have declined participation in a third bidding round for United. The bidding is turning into a farce, with Glazers giving no respect to the club. The delays will make it very difficult for any new owner to build a winning team for next season. — Thomas Zilliacus (@TZilliacus) April 12, 2023

Jim Ratcliffe, sheik Jassim and myself all were ready to negotiate a deal to buy United. Instead Glazers chose to start a new round. I will not participate in a farce set up to maximize the profit for the sellers at the expense of Manchester United.

— Thomas Zilliacus (@TZilliacus) April 12, 2023

When he first submitted his bid, he stated:

”Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans. The current development, where billionaire sheiks and oligarks [sic] take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend,” he explained.

“The current market value of the club is just under $3.9bn. That means that if every one of the fans of the club would join in buying the club, the total sum per fan would amount to less than 6 dollars. My bid is built on equality with the fans.

“My group will finance half of the sum needed to take over the club, and will ask the fans, through a new company that is being set up for this specific purpose, to participate for the other half. If every fan joins it means less than 3 dollars per fan.”

So far only 3 bidders have made their names public, Zilliacus, Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and the owner of Ineos, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

It’s believed that the Glazer family are seeking around £6bn for the club.