Amazon have become the latest company to be credited with an interest in purchasing Manchester United - even though the club's £7billion valuation has been labelled unrealistic.
The Glazer family, who bought United back in 2005, announced in a statement last month that they were open to finding new investment or selling the club outright. Since then, a host of high-profile names, including Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have been linked with a mega-money takeover.
The Raine Group, an investment banking firm who have been appointed as United's exclusive financial advisors, have set a price of around £6bn to £7bn for the club - a sum that is believed to be far less than the £9bn that the Glazers were hoping to rake in by selling up.
Even though it has now emerged that the revised asking price may still be too high for some suitors, another big-name player has seemingly joined the race to purchase one of European football's most famous clubs.
According to a fresh report from The Athletic, Amazon have emerged as a potential buyer for Manchester United. The American technology giant currently holds Premier League broadcasting rights worth £30m-a-year, but could now be set to buy into the club outright. They "declined to comment on rumour and speculation" linking them with United, however.
The report also outlines that several financial experts in London believe that even the club's revised price tag of £6bn-£7bn is far too high. For context, United's Premier League rivals, Chelsea, were sold to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake capital for £2.5bn back in the summer.
Football Benchmark, a data and analytics platform, ranks Manchester United as the second most valuable football team on the planet, only behind Real Madrid - but even their valuation of the club stands at £2.425bn.
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"The gap between the rumoured transaction price and the theoretical value of Manchester United FC appears enormous," explained Andrea Sartori, the Football Benchmark chief executive.
The Glazer's statement confirming that the club was effectively on the market back in November was welcomed by United fans, who have protested against the American's vociferously in recent years.
While it had been hoped that a deal could be sooner along than first thought following the Glazer's unexpected statement last month, the report goes on to add that nobody has engaged in 'serious talks' with Raine over a buyout.
Raine are still hopeful that a takeover can be concluded within the first quarter of 2023, however, the report also notes that they are not expected to establish an official cut-off point for interest.
