Club Sale | It’s done!

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Greck

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Thread must have like 2-3 side topics per page that has little to nothing to do with the sale of the club
 

Maroon Lucifer

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These ‘journalists’ are so disingenuous!


They are implying he isn’t a fan and is opportunistic. Why don’t they show a picture of him wearing a Man Utd top from last year when he attended the match?

Why don’t they mention how Ratcliff is a Man Utd fan yet has a season ticket to chelsea?

Their agenda is so transparent.
well I'm foreign, and I too became a Man United fan in 1992 even though United didn't win anything. And I can prove it too. I still have the season review on VHS titled "So near so far".
 

Kinsella

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Not unless he votes himself off the board. :lol:
He is more than 2/3 owner, there are 2 other guys who hold 19 pc each. That’s it. They are a Ltd not a PLC so there are no shares traded on Stock exchanges. INEOS is Jim Ratcliffe, and vice versa.
I’m thinking this info should be pinned to the top of every page now. So many people keep repeating the same thing.
 
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city-puma

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Samid

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well I'm foreign, and I too became a Man United fan in 1992 even though United didn't win anything. And I can prove it too. I still have the season review on VHS titled "So near so far".
The one you bought from Ebay after we started winning? As if we’re going to fall for that buddy.
 

golden_blunder

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Even ChatGBT writes a better statement

We are pleased to submit our bid for the purchase of Manchester United Football Club. Our organization is a well-established investment firm with a proven track record of success in the sports industry. Our mission is to create sustainable and long-term value for our stakeholders by investing in strong and profitable businesses.

Our proposal for the acquisition of Manchester United includes a comprehensive plan for the future of the club. We are committed to building on the rich history and tradition of the team while ensuring its continued success on and off the field.

We are prepared to make a significant investment in the club, which includes providing funds for player transfers, stadium renovations, and other necessary improvements. Our focus will be on building a strong team that can compete at the highest level, while also creating a world-class fan experience at Old Trafford.

We have assembled a team of experienced professionals with a deep understanding of the sports industry and are committed to working with the current management team and staff to achieve our shared vision for the club.

Our bid is fully financed, and we are ready to move quickly to complete the acquisition process. We believe that our experience, expertise, and financial resources make us the ideal partner for Manchester United's future success.
 

TrebleChamp99

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It baffles me.

I’m foreign and I was born in the 90s; of course I support United. My reasons were obviously weak and probably pathetic, but then again, I was 6.

The Romanticism of supporting this club and its greatest moments are so deeply rooted to the city and its people; I genuinely cannot understand how some fans don’t care about that connection being lost.

I don’t think you’re a lesser fan if you’re not a match-goer. But if you don’t believe that the voices of the fans in OT should weigh more than yours, you’ve fundamentally misunderstood the club.

I had the privilege of having a season ticket for 8 years, but I live in London now. I never felt what I wanted should matter as much as what the folks who have been going for decades wanted, let alone now.
It wouldn’t be lost, not by a long shot. If it was , it was when American Business moguls bought us on debt to syphon money out every year.
 

Dion

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You are making up things. Everyone knows he is part of royal family.
This isn't true, I've had people tell me it's "just a private individual" on here
State actors using state funds to get around dual ownership rules is state ownership. The mental gymnastics required to deny that to yourself is incredible.
See my reply to someone telling me it.
 

Mockney

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It baffles me.

I’m foreign and I was born in the 90s; of course I support United. My reasons were obviously weak and probably pathetic, but then again, I was 6.

The Romanticism of supporting this club and its greatest moments are so deeply rooted to the city and its people; I genuinely cannot understand how some fans don’t care about that connection being lost.

I don’t think you’re a lesser fan if you’re not a match-goer. But if you don’t believe that the voices of the fans in OT should weigh more than yours, you’ve fundamentally misunderstood the club.

I had the privilege of having a season ticket for 8 years, but I live in London now. I never felt what I wanted should matter as much as what the folks who have been going for decades wanted, let alone now.
Same, I used to go to a fair amount of games, and still make a few every season but nowhere close to the hardcore, who’d I’d quite happily admit are a more significant part of the club than I… And who I certainly think should probably have a greater say than me in things like this (though obviously that’s not how it works) Also, for a lot of those types it’s a completely all encompassing thing - huge expense, organising your entire life around the games, travel,, accommodation, flying out for every Euro away, up and down the county every other week. The idea the fact they might’ve been born nearby means they just plopped out and were given a seat some poor desperate overseas fan would’ve loved - like some kind of weird inverse Daily Mail benefits strawman - is horseshit.

There’s also a strange quasi cultural appropriation angle going on that I don’t even want to attempt to unpack..
 
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Sweet Square

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I mean who the feck cares when exactly that guy that's mostly funded from the state anyway started to follow United. To actually write a piece on that is so pity it's unreal.
Its not though, questioning the fan “origin” story of a guy trying hide the fact he is using Qatar state/dictatorship money to buy the biggest club in the world for sport washing purpose should be basic sport journalism.
Tbf, I think quite a lot of our fans strongly identify with someone over compensating for their geographical distance from Old Trafford by embellishing their almost romantic dedication to the club…
Yeah thats a fair point.
 

Maroon Lucifer

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The one you bought from Ebay after we started winning? As if we’re going to fall for that buddy.
haha, fair enough I can't prove it :)

I remember I bought it in a store called Macro (I think) on a trip to Aberdeen in Scotland. There was a ferry that sailed between the Faroes and Aberdeen every week. It was only about £60 and I went about 12 times :lol:
 

nainaisson

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These ‘journalists’ are so disingenuous!


They are implying he isn’t a fan and is opportunistic. Why don’t they show a picture of him wearing a Man Utd top from last year when he attended the match?

Why don’t they mention how Ratcliff is a Man Utd fan yet has a season ticket to chelsea?

Their agenda is so transparent.
I became a United fan in a season we didn't win anything too -- what's wrong with that? Is this guy saying we're all glory hunters?
 

Dion

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I became a United fan in a season we didn't win anything too -- what's wrong with that? Is this guy saying we're all glory hunters?
I think he's saying that when there's no evidence to the contrary, and it's in the benefit of someone who gains greatly from lying, it's right to be highly sceptical of something which is extremely unlikely.
 

Greck

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I became a United fan in a season we didn't win anything too -- what's wrong with that? Is this guy saying we're all glory hunters?
He could be a gloryhunter and still make for a better owner. Don't even entertain whatever line of reasoning is being implied there. Football DNA isn't a real thing when deciding competence. That's how you end up with Ole/Moyes and Maguire at 80m. People like that don't want to learn a thing from our sentiment-motivated mistakes in the post-SAF years.
 

Rampant Red Rodriguez

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Nobody is leveraging anything.
JR hasnt explicitly stated how he would finance any potential takeover, and we know he is speaking to the banks about the takeover. Qatar has explicitly stated how they will be financing the deal and is not through debt.
 

MF1138

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I think he's saying that when there's no evidence to the contrary, and it's in the benefit of someone who gains greatly from lying, it's right to be highly sceptical of something which is extremely unlikely.
Why is it extremely unlikely? We came second in 91-92 and won the league in 92-93. Giggs had just broken into the team, there was huge excitment around us. We were hardly bottom feeders that nobody would decide to supported.Incidentally this is the time I started following united, also age 10.

United have fans from all over the world so its hardly unlikely that we'd have many from Qatar. I'd imagine one of the reasons he was chosen as the face of their bid because he is a fan.
 

Sly1

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The sun… but if the leeches refused to leave at this stage surely the protests from fans would be apocalyptic!?

On Sir Jim’s bid, am I the only one who doesn’t understand the “Manchester back in Manchester United” bit? Our global fan base is one of our greatest strengths, what’s to be gained by working against that now?
The man virtually wants to drag Man Utd into the ground and abandon us,just as he supported Brexit and left them to their fate.
 

Dion

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Why is it extremely unlikely? We came second in 91-92 and won the league in 92-93. Giggs had just broken into the team, there was huge excitment around us. We were hardly bottom feeders that nobody would decide to supported.Incidentally this is the time I started following united, also age 10.

United have fans from all over the world so its hardly unlikely that we'd have many from Qatar. I'd imagine one of the reasons he was chosen as the face of their bid because he is a fan.
Man Utd were popular in 1992, but Qatar didn't even get Premier League coverage on television for a decade after that. It's phenomenally unlikely that a 10 year old started supporting a club he never watched the year before they started winning, a year which also just happens to match the year a crop of incredibly gifted youngsters won the youth cup and went on to become an important year in the iconography of the club yet there be absolutely no evidence of him ever supporting the club in the 30 years following, never mind in the 90's.

It's technically possible, but it's also exactly the kind of heavy handed attempt at cultural appropriation someone would come up with when trying to win over a sceptical fanbase.
 

tenpoless

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While it does seem like PR, there's no doubt United is pretty popular outside of England. In Asia specifically. So anyone supporting United shouldn't be a surprise.
The same way when SJR said he supported United although he also had Chelsea season ticket, it was also not a surprise. I feel like we shouldn't care too much about the owners supporting the club before they became owners.
 

mu4c_20le

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Regardless of intent, I think we should be wary of the obvious PR puff pieces that come up. Nick Harris also works for the Mail and he's even questioned their own sources, the ones that had been feeding Keegan (which some have been taking as gospel):



Those speaking on his behalf to this newspaper on Saturday conceded they had never actually met him, don't know whether he is married or has children, and can't say why he started supporting United in 1992, at a point when they hadn't won a league title in 25 years.

It is possible that as a 10-year-old he realised Alex Ferguson was on the brink of turning United into a dominant force over the next two decades and jumped aboard their global fanbase. Those speaking for him could not say how many times he had been to Old Trafford but insist he is a 'genuine' United fan who has been in person to 'many' United matches over the years.
 

tenpoless

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This thread has everything. Sexuality, political views, Brexit, local fans vs global fans, human rights and global warming. Best thread of the year.
 

Red in STL

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Regardless of intent, I think we should be wary of the obvious PR puff pieces that come up. Nick Harris also works for the Mail and he's even questioned their own sources, the ones that had been feeding Keegan (which some have been taking as gospel):



Those speaking on his behalf to this newspaper on Saturday conceded they had never actually met him, don't know whether he is married or has children, and can't say why he started supporting United in 1992, at a point when they hadn't won a league title in 25 years.

It is possible that as a 10-year-old he realised Alex Ferguson was on the brink of turning United into a dominant force over the next two decades and jumped aboard their global fanbase. Those speaking for him could not say how many times he had been to Old Trafford but insist he is a 'genuine' United fan who has been in person to 'many' United matches over the years.
I was a 30 year old in 1992 and I didn't realize what Fergie was unleashing, and I was a match going red of many years at the time, so I doubt a 10 year old knew, having said that, most of these ME royals were educated in England so it's entirely possible he was watching on TV at the time
 

enghuei

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These ‘journalists’ are so disingenuous!


They are implying he isn’t a fan and is opportunistic. Why don’t they show a picture of him wearing a Man Utd top from last year when he attended the match?

Why don’t they mention how Ratcliff is a Man Utd fan yet has a season ticket to chelsea?

Their agenda is so transparent.
As a 40 year old (same age as Jassim) fan from the Far East, I also fell in love with United around the same period when I first saw Ryan Giggs running down the wing in his retro red Adidas kit on tele. I don’t think we were the champions that season were we? So what’s the problem with him falling in love with United that year?
 

Ottawa MLS Fan

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Man Utd were popular in 1992, but Qatar didn't even get Premier League coverage on television for a decade after that. It's phenomenally unlikely that a 10 year old started supporting a club he never watched the year before they started winning, a year which also just happens to match the year a crop of incredibly gifted youngsters won the youth cup and went on to become an important year in the iconography of the club yet there be absolutely no evidence of him ever supporting the club in the 30 years following, never mind in the 90's.

It's technically possible, but it's also exactly the kind of heavy handed attempt at cultural appropriation someone would come up with when trying to win over a sceptical fanbase.
Not really. United were a huge draw around the world long before the Premier League came along. A few years ago I was sharing a table in the Red Cafe with an Iranian man and his son before a game. He was about the same age as me and had been supporting United for about 40 years, so starting probably in the late 70s. I can’t remember what the triggering event was for his supporting United (mine was watching George Best ten years before that) but he had never been to England at that time.
 

Sly1

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Man Utd were popular in 1992, but Qatar didn't even get Premier League coverage on television for a decade after that. It's phenomenally unlikely that a 10 year old started supporting a club he never watched the year before they started winning, a year which also just happens to match the year a crop of incredibly gifted youngsters won the youth cup and went on to become an important year in the iconography of the club yet there be absolutely no evidence of him ever supporting the club in the 30 years following, never mind in the 90's.

It's technically possible, but it's also exactly the kind of heavy handed attempt at cultural appropriation someone would come up with when trying to win over a sceptical fanbase.
You don't need to watch a team before you begin to support.I had never seen Man Utd play when I was a kid but I supported it.
On the issue of premier league coverage: Your assumption is questionable to me because we used to watch Man Utd and other teams play many years before we had official television coverage in Ghana. The rich and a few well to do people only enjoyed the privilege of watching some foreign matches because they had access to satellite television networks then. And judging by this notion, it's very clear that,as rich as they are,Sheikh Jassim could afford to watch Man Utd in Qatar even before they had official television coverage.

Let's not read too much into when the Sheikh started supporting Man Utd.

I believe what is much more important is his vision for the club.
 

DOTA

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I don't think he was a Utd fan in 92.
 

AlPistacho

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These ‘journalists’ are so disingenuous!


They are implying he isn’t a fan and is opportunistic. Why don’t they show a picture of him wearing a Man Utd top from last year when he attended the match?

Why don’t they mention how Ratcliff is a Man Utd fan yet has a season ticket to chelsea?

Their agenda is so transparent.
Yeah it’s become pathetic.
 

AlPistacho

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Man Utd were popular in 1992, but Qatar didn't even get Premier League coverage on television for a decade after that. It's phenomenally unlikely that a 10 year old started supporting a club he never watched the year before they started winning, a year which also just happens to match the year a crop of incredibly gifted youngsters won the youth cup and went on to become an important year in the iconography of the club yet there be absolutely no evidence of him ever supporting the club in the 30 years following, never mind in the 90's.

It's technically possible, but it's also exactly the kind of heavy handed attempt at cultural appropriation someone would come up with when trying to win over a sceptical fanbase.
BS. United have always been the most popular English team in Africa and Asia. You’ll find Africans who have never been to the U.K. that started supporting United in 50s, 60s, 70s… don’t think they were getting live matches every week.

When he arrived in the U.K. we might not have won the league in over 25 years but we were still the club dominating the news. And that was the year we finished second. A 10 year old would notice that, and between Leeds and United would most likely choose the team that wears “red” because think about most boys favourite colour when they’re that age.
 

sparx99

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I was a 30 year old in 1992 and I didn't realize what Fergie was unleashing, and I was a match going red of many years at the time, so I doubt a 10 year old knew, having said that, most of these ME royals were educated in England so it's entirely possible he was watching on TV at the time
He was probably at Eton or Harrow and liked one player. That’s how most kids end up supporting teams.

Just seen he was educated at Sandhurst so he was likely watching Premier League games just as the rest of us did in 1992.
 
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UDontMessWith24

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Its like clockwork, isn't it? Every 4-5 pages someone comes in to make that argument with infallible confidence that they have won the debate with that.
I have no interest or reason to debate anyone because I can support whoever I want and won’t even entertain a discussion about whether I’m “right” or “wrong” because it’s nobody’s business. All I did was successfully point out one of many double standards that make your moral high ground imaginary.
 
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