Manchester united for sale as splash sheikhs line up £1.2b takeover bid

From the Sunday Express....

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/...M-TAKEOVER-BID

MANCHESTER UNITED’S sunshine break in Qatar last week could lead to a spectacular £1.2billion takeover of the club.

Sunday Express Sport can reveal that while Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson took advantage of the warmth of Doha to fine tune his players, there was feverish work going on behind the scenes.

Aware that Qatar, with their bid for the 2022 World Cup in mind, has gone football crazy, feelers were put out by United’s owners the Glazers about attracting Middle East investment – or finding a potential buyer.

The Glazers may have saddled the club with debts of £700m after their controversial takeover in 2005 but they know they could make a huge profit if they sold, with even conservative estimates placing the club’s present value at around £1.2billion.

United’s short stay in Qatar provided the Old Trafford money men with the perfect opportunity to attract fiscal interest in the club.

Oil and gas reserves have transformed the country into one of the richest in the world.

It is seeking a higher profile identity and sees sport as the vehicle to help meet that ambition.

No expense is being spared in winning a bid for the 2022 World Cup – so the chance of either being involved in or owning a club of United’s magnitude has great appeal to Qatar’s wealthy aristocracy.

It would also provide the perfect foil to one of their Emirates rivals Abu Dhabi where Sheikh Mansour owns Manchester City.

United could easily have undergone warm weather training a lot closer to home but the six-and-a-half hour
plane journey served two purposes, to get away from the snow and put out some money markers.

The Glazers will only sell for the right price. In the meantime the club are hitting the road attempting to raise aminimum of £500m in bonds to help pay off some of the debt which has substantial interest payments.

United are confident of meeting their target and could even better it as they look to ease the strain of servicing the debt.

But it’s believed that the Glazers are still susceptible to a big offer for the club which would allow them to leave with a sizeable profit.

That’s where United’s training trip to Qatar will almost certainly become very signifi cant in the future.

United, though, will not be cashing in on Wayne Rooney. Manager Ferguson insists the player is happy and there is no contract issue surrounding the player.

There had been reports suggesting that Rooney’s advisers were looking for a lucrative new deal for the England player.

But Ferguson stated: “No one has said to me that his contract is up in such and such a time. It’s never been mentioned so I assume that everything is OK.”

Won't happen.

Just been reading that, it appears to be a nothing story

No substance in that article whatsoever.

plenty of quotes there

they couldn't even throw in a sheik something or other ffs

1 plus 1 = 5

Originally Posted by borsuk

plenty of quotes there

they couldn't even throw in a sheik something or other ffs

Sheik yaleg

Originally Posted by elephantstone

1 plus 1 = 5

Thick @#%&!.

This must be the tenth takeover story i've read in a couple of months.

The usual tabloid %@#$&!s.

They're £#%&!ed and they know it and want out.

Ever since they saw Meatballs at the end of "Looking for Eric" and realised he was a postman who would find them anywhere they've been spooked.

I'm pretending it's real.

Somebody posted about this on Fred Tissue before we went.

Originally Posted by Coracao

Somebody posted about this on Fred Tissue before we went.

It was me.

Originally Posted by koppas

It was me.

Would have thought you'd have been too busy lurking in the Maddy McCann thread tbh.

Originally Posted by Coracao

Would have thought you'd have been too busy lurking in the Maddy McCann thread tbh.

Originally Posted by magic_cantona

I'm pretending it's real.

That's my attitude as well. Spent the morning drawing up transfer list.

That comment about Rooney is a bit weird

Originally Posted by captain scarlet

That's my attitude as well. Spent the morning drawing up transfer list.

Me too.

Benzema.

That's it.

Originally Posted by koppas

Me too.

Benzema.

That's it.

Good choice mate.

Originally Posted by John Blazini

That comment about Rooney is a bit weird

Thought so too. I'm not happy with all the recent speculation about Rooney's future and stuff like that makes me fear it's more then just paper talk