Man Utd sale may be delayed by 'another year' as Super League claim made

Manchester United's sale may be delayed by another year, a fresh report has claimed.

It’s been 11 months since United owners, the Glazer family, first announced they were exploring strategic alternatives for the club, which could result in an outright sale.

Despite several respective bids from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and British petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, at present the Glazers remain in situ at Old Trafford.

Despite several ‘Glazers out’ protests, the American owners could look to remain at the United helm for another year, according to super agent Jon Smith, who is credited as one of the creators of the Premier League.

Smith wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside column: “To be honest here, I’m not inside this deal but I know quite a few of the funds who are close to the the two bidders, and it would appear vaguely intelligent for the Glazers to have looked again at the Gulf and said there’s a bigger game here and we don’t want to sell ourselves short.

“They’ve got arguably the biggest entity on planet football and if the Qataris are going to pay £5billion, maybe they’ll pay £10billion. Maybe it’s just a number and they’ll settle on seven.

“These deals are notoriously complicated and this is the biggest one of them all. I’m just of the belief that it’s a very heavy negotiation and it’s ultimately all about the money, obviously, but also about the timing.

“I think all eyes are on the Gulf to see what happens over the next 12 months as there could be a new and growing Super League coming out of the Gulf in some shape or form.

“If that happens then Man United’s value will rise dramatically, so we may be in a negotiated hold pattern at present which is why Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid for smaller ownership and keeping the Glazers in place may be more acceptable than the Qataris saying here’s £5billion, goodbye.

“I think the takeover is going to complete in some shape or form it’s just a question of when.”

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Topics: Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Sheikh Jassim

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.