Manchester United takeover labelled a ‘farce’ as prospective buyer pulls out

Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has withdrawn after the Glazers opted for a third round of bidding

The Glazer family are looking to sell Manchester United (Getty)

Thomas Zilliacus has withdrawn his offer to buy Manchester United and called the decision to extend the takeover process to a third round of bidding a “farce”.

Current owners, the Glazer family, have invited parties to submit a third round of bids, with Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, a Qatari banker, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company Ineos seen as the two leading contenders to buy the Premier League club.

Both submitted revised bids towards the end of March and at the time they were the only publicly confirmed offers for the entirety of the Old Trafford club, but since then Elliott Management has reportedly been in talks over a minority stake.

However, the extension has caused Finnish entrepreneur Zilliacus to pull out of the process, with the 69-year-old accusing the Glazers of giving “no respect” to the club and suggesting that “the delays will make it very difficult for any new owner to build a winning team for next season”.

Writing on Twitter, Zilliacus added: “The bidding is turning into a farce, with Glazers giving no respect to the club. 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 maximise the profit for the sellers at the expense of Manchester United.”

Thomas Zilliacus has withdrawn his offer (Bloomberg/Getty)

While the Raine Group is still leading the sale, the Glazers opting to extend the process appears to mean a completed deal before the end of the current season is now unlikely. The slow nature of any decision about a sale has left bidders feeling “that the Glazers are surveying all options to drive the price of the club up, and will only sell if they receive an offer of at least £6bn”, The Independent recently reported.

Bidders are now being invited to submit a third round of bids, with a deadline at the end of April. Sources have told The Independent that both Ineos and Qatar will be doing so, with the latter remaining confident in their approach.

On the pitch, the concern at the club is over whether a delay in ratifying any eventual takeover will affect the spending power and planning in the transfer market for Erik ten Hag.

A striker is the manager’s main priority but additional signings will be required as United prepare for a return to the Champions League.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is among the bidders for Manchester United (PA)

They currently sit fourth in the table with nine games to play, while also have a Europa League quarter-final first leg to contend with this week.

Top scorer Marcus Rashford is sidelined through injury and will miss the upcoming run of games, though Anthony Martial is back to full fitness.