You’d be extremely hard pressed to find a Manchester United supporter that is happy with The Glazers during their tenure as owners of Manchester United. This year discontent has been at an all time high and while anger has calmed a bit due to the upturn of form after the January transfer window which saw the club bring in Bruno Fernandes and Odion Ighalo, fan dissatisfaction with ownership is still present.
One of the primary reasons supporters have been increasing their frustration with The Glazers is due to talks of a takeover by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. While it would be a hugely controversial takeover to say the least, one thing that supporters are sure of is that the new owners will invest heavily in United. All talk however has been from inside Saudi Arabia and nothing concrete has been released. In fact, a few months ago talk of a PIF takeover of Newcastle United was gaining traction.
Saudi interest in a takeover of Newcastle United in an estimated £340m deal has now cooled, according to Liam Kennedy of The Shields Gazette. It’s reported that the “Saudi sovereign wealth fund interest in buying the club from Mike Ashley has cooled after details of negotiations were leaked last month. The purported reason being that these “leaks are thought to have angered the main players in the halls of power in the kingdom.” Furthermore, “Amanda Staveley’s involvement in the process is thought to have caused issues for both proposed buyer and seller in this process.”
“The Gazette has learned the Saudis could yet turn their attentions to Manchester United, ‘a Premier League jewel in the crown, rather than relegation contenders’, with the Red Devils thought to be valued at around £3 billion.” Saudi Arabia’s continued interest in making a Premier League acquisition is due to a focus “on sports and entertainment as part of Prince Mohammed’s economic reform plans for the kingdom.”
The report goes on to add that it’s “understood a number of buyers are weighing up the possibility of buying [Newcastle] United, but no bids are thought to be imminent.”
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