Manchester United news – latest: Qatari bid confirmed before deadline for offers

The Glazers have named Friday as the deadline for any potential offers while on the pitch United earned a 2-2 draw in Barcelona as Marcus Rashford scored again

Ten Hag - We should have scored four and Rashford was definitely fouled

Manchester United is up for sale. The club has been owned by the Glazer family since 2005 but the Americans announced in November last year that they would be putting the club up for sale following years of unrest and fan protests surrounding their ownership.

Today marks the first stage of that process with a soft deadline for potential takeover proposals to be submitted to the Glazers by 10pm GMT alongside a formally registering of any possible bidders interest. The document which will hold the proposal must include a paragraph-long statement from the interested buyer explaining how much of the club they want to own and what their offer is.

At this stage Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the only interested party to publicly announce his interest in taking over Manchester United. He is Britain’s richest man, who also owns French club Nice, and is a boyhood United fan. He confirmed in January he will be making a bid.

On the pitch, Erik ten Hag’s men travelled to Barcelona last night for the first leg of their Europa League play-off game. The host took the lead through Andreas Christiansen’s header before Marcus Rashford equalised and a Jules Kounde own goal but United in front. They couldn’t hold onto that lead though and Raphinha slotted home a lovely curling finish to beat David De Gea and keep the tie delicately poised ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford next week.

Follow along as we bring the latest updates on Manchester United’s sale and reaction from their draw with Barcelona:

Manchester United takeover new

• Manchester United drew 2-2 with Barcelona in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie
• The club is up for sale with 10pm on Friday the deadline for initial proposals
• Sir Jim Ratcliffe has publically announced his interest in taking over the club
• Investors from Qatar also attracted to buying the club
• Qatari Sheikh confirms bid to purchase Manchester United

[17 February 2023 10:55 · Michael Jones]

Will the Glazers actually sell Man Utd?

According to some sources with an understanding of the discussions taking place concerning the sale of Manchester United. Tonight’s deadline may be anti-climactic due to suspicion surrounding the Glazers’ intentions.

There are several people who know Joel and Avram Glazer who doubt their desire for a full takeover of the club while the other four Glazer siblings, Bryan, Kevin, Ed and Darcie, are said to want out of Man Utd entirely.

As the Glazers are in charger there is nothing to stop them from extending the deadline should the offers fail to meet their aspirations.

The Raine Group - who is overseeing the sale - were targeting a price of £6bn to £7bn ($7.2bn to $8.4bn) and there remains scepticism in the industry about that fee being achieved. A lower price of around £5bn has also been rumoured which seems like a more realistic prospect if the Glazers are willing to take it.

Should today’s proposals appeal to the family then bidders will be granted full access to Manchester United accounts so that proper due diligence can be carried out.

There is no time limit on this step, although some feel everything ought to be wrapped up before the football season is over.

[17 February 2023 10:49 · Michael Jones]

Erik ten Hag warns Marcus Rashford over ‘laziness’

Erik ten Hag has warned Marcus Rashford that he must avoid “laziness” to continue his rich recent vein of form.

Rashford was again on the scoresheet as Manchester United battled to a late 2-0 victory over Leeds on Sunday before netting against Barcelona last night.

A well-taken finish to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen as the near post was the forward’s 2nd goal of the season so far, equalling his personal best tally in a single campaign.

Ten Hag is enjoying Rashford’s recent scoring run, but has urged the player to not get complacent and keep his “focus” to ensure it continues.

[17 February 2023 10:42 · Michael Jones]

Rashford on his penalty shout

25-year-old Marcus Rashford was furious not to win a penalty having been felled by Jules Kounde on the edge of the box. It was a decision for which manager Erik ten Hag was booked as he protested about the lack of VAR intervention.

“I have not watched it back, but I don’t understand why the linesman or the referee thinks I am going down there?” Rashford said after the game.

“I have touched it past him, my foot is in front of the ball and he hits my leg. It is clear contact and was 100 per cent a foul. Hopefully the second leg is going to be another good game and we can go that one step further.”

[17 February 2023 10:35 · Michael Jones]

‘It felt like a loss’ - Rashford’s reaction to draw with Barcelona

Marcus Rashford continued his outstanding form when he netted against Barcelona to bring the scores level at 1-1 in the second half at the Camp Nou last night.

Both sides scored again but United were the ones to concede the late equaliser and Rashford told BT Sport: “It felt like a loss.

“We did well to get back into the game, stayed calm and composed.

“We tried to create chances when we could and we scored two quick goals, then felt in control of the outcome, but they are a top team and managed to get an equaliser.”

[17 February 2023 10:28 · Michael Jones]

Ten Hag unhappy with officiating against Barcelona

Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag, was displeased with the standard of refereeing during his team’s 2-2 draw against Barcelona and the Dutchman was very vocal from the dugouts about decisions that went against his side.

His antics earned himself a yellow card and following the match he explained why he had a problem with the officiating.

[17 February 2023 10:22 · Michael Jones]

Marcus Rashford continues hot streak as Man United earn pulsating first-leg draw in Barcelona

A 2-2 of many twists, most of all in what a coruscating game represented. Manchester United’s trip to FC Barcelona is after all a famous Champions League fixture that was here an early Europa League play-off first leg, with the lessened pressure eventually bringing heightened entertainment, the Spanish league leaders not really looking like what that phrase has historically meant.

Their defence certainly looked off the level. Having conceded just seven goals in 1,890 minutes of LaLiga football this season, Barcelona suffered two in six minutes here, as United regularly looked like they could score at will – especially the effervescent Marcus Rashford.

He claimed one and set up the other, before offering a last twist in missing a fine chance on this kind of form. That in itself still would have felt a little harsh on Barca, who had enough big chances towards the end themselves. Ansu Fati was their response to Rashford, shifting the game back the other way.

[17 February 2023 10:16 · Michael Jones]

How long will the sale take?

There is no exact timeline for the sale of Manchester United. When interested parties are revealed after Friday’s soft deadline, the Glazers may well opt to extend the timeline for potential investors to come forward, hoping that a publicity battle will drive up the price buyers are willing to pay.

Should a deal be agreed upon, it would then have to receive ratification from the Premier League. Depending on the source of the money and the nature of the buyer it can vary as to how long this process would take.

PIF’s interest in Newcastle was announced in April 2020 but was not finalised until October 2021, for example.

[17 February 2023 10:10 · Michael Jones]

How much is Man Utd worth?

The Glazers have set a £5bn valuation on the Premier League club but it is expected that bids after Friday’s deadline will not reach that price initially.

The club has a value of roughly £3bn on the New York Stock Exchange and there is a belief all of Friday’s offers will come in at least 30% under their £5bn valuation.

As a rough comparison Todd Boehly’s consortium bought Chelsea for £4.25bn so this will be the ball-park figure that the Glazers will want to aim for.

[17 February 2023 10:05 · Michael Jones]

When is the deadline?

Friday’s deadline is, crucially, not the deadline for the sale of the club to be agreed. Instead, it is merely a deadline for interested buyers to register their interest and financial capability of buying the club from its current owners.

Bids do not have to be disclosed by the potential new owners with this process merely about gauging interest from interested parties.

What do bidders have to do before it?

In line with formally registering their interest, each party needs to submit a document to the Glazers by 10pm UK time.

In the document, there will be a paragraph-long statement from the interested buyer explaining how much of the club they want to own and what their offer is.

[17 February 2023 09:59 · Michael Jones]

Who is interested in buying Man Utd?

Interest from the Middle East is also expected. The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is a Man Utd fan and has been suggested as a potential bidder.

However, Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) - the state’s wealth fund that the emir owns - already runs Paris Saint-Germain with a bid therefore unlikely unless the sale of the French club is agreed.

There may be interest from private Qatari investors as well but as The Independent’s Miguel Delaney reports, such a move would likely still require state-level sanctioning and therefore would again be a conflict of interest with the state’s current ownership of PSG.

Saudi Arabian bidders are expected but the state-run Public Investment Fund (PIF) - majority owners of Newcastle United since last year – are unable to be one.