Today marks seven months to the day since the Glazers announced they were open to the idea of selling Manchester United.
As the saying goes, and as fans have since found, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the club is now stuck in limbo with no conclusion to the saga in sight. While the Glazers announced in November the club was "commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives", it has been clear that the owners are in no rush to do so.
Five rounds of bidding have since taken place, with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe emerging as frontrunners, while in the background the nightmare scenario of the current regime remaining as further financing from US investment groups also remains a possibility.
It means Erik ten Hag's summer transfer window plans now face being impacted by the inability to find a new owner. The process, led by the US investment banking firm Raine Group that also handled Todd Boehly's purchase of Premier League rivals Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, has been nothing short of a debacle.
READ MORE: United must know how much a new No.9 will cost after their last negotiation
It has been a stark contrast to the quick turnaround Raine managed with the Blues. Former owner and Russian oligarch Abramovich was forced into selling the West London club last year after being sanctioned by the UK government for allegedly having ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Following the announcement of the sale, and with Abramovich's assets frozen by the British government, Chelsea became desperate to secure a new owner amid a budget crisis that saw their funds temporarily dictated to them with strict budgets for travelling to games, hosting matches at Stamford Bridge as well as signing players and agreeing new contracts.
It put the club in a state of crisis but a group led by US businessman Boehly completed a takeover of the club following the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign - less than three months after Abramovich's announcement that he was leaving. That brought an end to Abramovich’s 19-year control of the club, a period in which they won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League crowns.
Speaking following the takeover, Raine Group staff admitted it had been the most 'complex' deal they had worked on.
"It was certainly Raine's most complex and intense project by a meaningful margin. For a deal that ordinarily would have taken six months, we essentially completed it in 40 days,” said Colin Neville, who leads Raine Group’s sports practice.
"Under normal circumstances we would have been very pleased with the outcome. Given the extreme circumstances and time pressure we were working under, it was an incredible success. We secured a record price with several novel transaction elements."
Raine appear to have landed yet another complex deal. It is now exactly seven months since the Glazers put United up for sale - meaning the takeover has missed the 'ordinary' timeframe of six months to conclude.
Fans are now desperate for United's takeover to be concluded as quickly as possible. Raine has proved it can be done once already.
