Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus says he has submitted a unique bid to buy half of Manchester United and says he will allow fans to buy the other half.
Zilliacus, who is chairman of the social media group novaM Group, has submitted an offer through XXI Century Capital, an investment firm owned by his holding company. The Finn's unique bid comes via his fan involvement, which would allow them to buy a stake in the club and have an equal say via an app.
A statement released on Thursday read: "Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans. The current development, where billionaire sheikhs and oligarchs take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend."
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Zilliacus, has previously been chairman of Finnish side HJK Helsinki and is a current owner of Finland’s 6-times ice hockey champions Jokerit.
Explaining his vision for United he added: “The current market value of the club is just under 3.9 billion USD. 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. Each fan who joins will have access to an app which the fan, from anywhere in the world, can use to participate and cast his vote when deciding on footballing matters relating to the club. No decisions will be taken that are not supported by a majority of the fan base."
Zilliacus has also outlined his desire to make United a driving force to stop online abuse, which is rife. “Manchester United should not only be the best football club in the world, it should also be the leading club in the world in working to stop abuse, racism and hate speech in social media and on sports grounds."
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