Five serious bidders for Manchester United told to submit one-paragraph offer by end of next week – Reports

Potential buyers of Manchester United have been told to submit their offers for the club's ownership by next Friday. These offers must be concise - one paragraph only - and include the bid amount and the percentage of the club that the buyer intends to acquire. Along with the offer, buyers must also provide proof of funds.

According to Sportsmail (via Daily Mail), a group of private Qatari investors are preparing their bid in the hopes of being the most competitive. Five serious offers to take over Manchester United from the Glazer family will reportedly be delivered to US merchant bank Raine, who is managing the process. Additionally, dozens of other offers are expected to be made in the form of investments, rather than a full takeover.

Once the offers have been made, the process will move to the next stage. Raine will be responsible for narrowing down the bids to a select few serious contenders. These contenders will then compete to become the preferred bidder, providing them with full access to Manchester United's financial records. Once this has been accomplished, a final decision will be made.

Those who have previously shown interest in buying the club have already been granted access to the 'data room', which contains the agreed-upon financial figures. Although this provides an overview of the club's financial situation, it does not provide a complete picture, which will be provided in the latter stages.

If the offers made by the bidders do not meet the Glazers' desired valuation, estimated to be around £6 billion, they may opt for investments instead. However, those involved in the process expect that a sale will take place.

A Qatar-based consortium, distinct from Qatar Sports Investments, which owns Paris Saint-Germain, is said to be hard at work to put together an official bid. Reports also suggest that bids are likely to be made from the United States, Asia, and Saudi Arabia. British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the only known bidder to have gone public, backed by investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

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Why are the Glazers selling Manchester United?

For a while now, the Glazers' choice to offload Manchester United has been a major talking point, and according to the Mirror, there are numerous explanations for this. Despite the established truth that the Glazers are despised by supporters, there are other factors that have influenced their choice to divest.

The timing of this decision is highly correlated to the current state of the Premier League. In May 2021, a consortium spearheaded by Todd Boehly procured Chelsea for a starting fee of £2.85 billion, which has set a standard for the market. It has also given owners reason to think about offloading their clubs.

Like Liverpool, Manchester United is owned by American investors who are looking to make a profit. The Glazers, who first obtained control of Manchester United in a bid of £790 million in 2005, think that they can earn a substantial return by selling now.

To sum up, the Glazers' choice to offload Manchester United is primarily motivated by financial factors. The current conditions of the Premier League and their wish to procure a return on investment have all had an effect on their decision.