Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has withdrawn his offer to buy Manchester United and blasted the ongoing process as a farce.
Earlier this week, parties interested in acquiring the Premier League giants were told there would be a third round of bidding. The Glazer family - who have owned the club since 2005 - announced in November they would be exploring ‘strategic alternatives’ which could include either a partial, or full takeover.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim Bin Al Thani are both expected to participate in the latest round, having already logged world record bids to complete a full takeover.
However, Zillacus has revealed he will no longer be part of the process and warned prospective bidders that the drawn-out nature of the sale will hamper the club moving forward.
He posted on social media: “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.”
Zilliacus continued: "Jim Ratcliffe, sheik Jassim [sic] 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."
The former Nikia chief confirmed his initial offer would place supporters front and centre, with 50 per cent of his bid to be funded by fans. ”Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans,” he said after lodging his offer last month,
“The current development, where billionaire sheiks and oligarchs take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend.
"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.
He added: “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."
His bid was quickly dismissed as a publicity stunt by sceptical rivals, a claim Zililacus strongly denied. Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, he said: “I don’t know where they’ve gotten that from.
“If you’re rivals in a bidding process, you’re of course trying to discredit others as much as you can. But I’d hope they wouldn’t do that because this is a serious, genuine attempt by someone who loves football and the club to get ownership.”
Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim will now have until the end of April to register a new bid, with the Glazers standing firm on their £6bn valuation. Numerous parties are believed to be keen on making an investment, although the bids from the INEOS chief and Qatari banker are the ones with eyes on a full takeover.
Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man, has been to Carrington and met Erik ten Hag in recent weeks and is determined to purchase his boyhood club. However, he has hinted that he has a price he will not go above, telling the Wall Street Journal: “What you don’t want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently.”
