Man Utd owners the Glazers will REFUSE to budge from £6bn valuation as Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe line up bids
BIDDERS for Manchester United will be told the Glazers have no intention of selling for less than their £6billion asking price.
And that casts major doubt on rival offers of up to £5bn from Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
American hedge fund giants Elliott are also offering to stump up a package for a figurehead who wants to front any bid.
But one insider said: “It’s still not clear if the Glazers actually want to sell and — if they do — it will only be for top dollar.
“It’s possible they are keener on a partial sale rather than a full one at this stage — as that might value the club higher.
“What is obvious is that they want to maximise their profits by selling at their preferred price or not at all.
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“The other possibility nobody is discounting is they will simply decide that none of the bids is anywhere near what they want and call it off, in the hope that the market conditions change in their favour in a year or so.”
Supporters were left fearing Ratcliffe’s bid could leave the Glazers with a slice of the club — after Ineos confirmed their offer for ‘majority ownership’ of United.
The loathed Glazers are understood to possess around two-thirds of the club, which is valued at £2.9bn in total on the New York Stock Exchange.
However, Ineos’ bid is believed to be for all of the Glazers’ holding, the remainder mostly owned by American investors.
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Local lad and lifelong United fan Ratcliffe is one of the UK’s wealthiest men, with an estimated net worth of £12.5bn.
His petro-chemicals company Ineos previously bid £4bn for Chelsea and also owns French club Nice — as well as Swiss side Lausanne-Sport.
The 70-year-old enlisted the help of US financial behemoths JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
An Ineos statement: said “We would see our role as the long-term custodians of Manchester United.
“We want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again.
“We also recognise that football governance in this country is at a crossroads.
“We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North-West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and focusing on winning the Champions League.”
Hedge fund Elliott, headed by Paul Singer, emerged as potential buyers yesterday — although they are not keen on a full purchase — and could even team up with Ratcliffe.
But Elliott at least offer a route to buy the club for any bidders lacking the financial firepower on their own.
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The former owners of AC Milan manage a massive £46bn in assets.
Sheikh Jassim pledged his “100 per cent” bid for the club would be “completely debt-free”.
