Manchester United: Sky Sports journalist on takeover ‘interest’

Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports News has claimed that there has been less public interest in buying Manchester United than the club had expected.
The Lowdown: Up for sale
Near the end of last year, the owners of the Red Devils were reportedly exploring the possibility of selling Man United to an interested party.
ESPN has claimed that the Glazers are looking to sell the Premier League club for a ‘world record’ fee.
News has also broken recently that there’s Qatari interest in Erik ten Hag’s side according to Sky Sports.
The Latest: Only Ratcliffe public
When speaking on Sky Sports News, Solhekol claimed that public interest in the club hasn’t met their expectations, with billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s interest marking the only public bid for the Red Devils.
Comparing the recent sale of Chelsea to the current bidding process at Old Trafford, he stated: “[Chelsea] attracted a lot of people who were serious about buying Chelsea, but a lot of people as well who were looking for publicity, I think that is what’s different.
“As far as Manchester United and Liverpool are concerned, it is not as much of a sort of media circus, but there is interest in buying Manchester United, but I’ve been told that it’s not quite at the level that was expected.
“So far, the only person who’s shown their hand has been the UK businessman to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has come out and said that yes, he would like to buy Manchester United.
“But apart from that, we haven’t had anyone coming out publicly saying that they want to buy the club in the same way that we had with Chelsea.”
The Verdict: Desperate for sale
We don’t think that the lack of declared interest in the public eye is necessarily a bad thing for Manchester United, as the focus should be on finding the right bidder behind closed doors while allowing the fans’ attention to remain on the players and their campaign.
That said, it’s no secret that there’s a lot of animosity between the supporters and the Glazers, so there may be celebrations purely for the fact they are going rather than who the potential new owners are.
In many ways, the current owners are very lucky to have Ten Hag at the helm, as he’s having a strong Premier League campaign where they look set to finish in the top four and will be in the League Cup final later this month.
The Dutchman was backed heavily in the summer but was then unable to sign any players on permanent deals in January, despite a potential lack of strength in depth in terms of strikers and right-wingers.
For all parties involved, it’s better that new owners arrive at Manchester United very quickly for the sake of the club’s ambition and their fans – there has been a lack of trophies in recent years and new ownership could help spark a new era at Old Trafford.
