Club Sale | It’s done!

[Bosws87]

If Qatar gets announced as the preferred bidder , I fear we might see even higher prices quoted for some of our transfer targets.

On the positive we may actually be able to shift the players who won’t flush because we were trying to find value in the market with sales.

No longer would need to sell them for a decent return, which is what we have needed for many years now.

 

[DavelinaJolie]

It will happen. It’s inevitable. It might not be right away, but it will. We will one day be involved in a transfer, or a re-development, or a something which requires us to spend more than we’d budgeted for, or should be able to spend, and the people that own us, who’ve never had to deal with not getting their way or encountered a problem they couldn’t solve with money, will find a way to get that money used for their gain….

Just like City did, despite it being perfectly possible to grow them more organically over time, just like Newcastle are already doing with their sponsors, despite already being a more “marketable” team than City were, and just like Qatar themselves did with the Neymar & Mbappe deals that broke the transfer market, or the World Cup bid that saw 7 FIFA officials arrested in the aftermath and a criminal investigation opened into the bidding process FFS!

it will happen. And all the same people will excuse it and defend it, precisely because being Man Utd will be the perfect cover for it, and a much more easily defendable reason for spending ludicrous sums. And even if it doesn’t, there will always be doubts as to whether it had. That’s tainting. It’s what tainting is. City haven’t been “convicted” of anything yet, but their success is tainted because everyone already believes they have.
So yes, it will happen.

You think it’s annoying having “moralists” in our own fanbase now? You’re gonna get bored of “defending” it. And of seeing everyone portray our non-state owned rivals as “proper” clubs and the moral victors whenever they beat us.

That’s the trade off. It’s absolutely fine to some, I’m sure. Many even. And being resigned to it is perfectly fine. But forgive me if I find the celebration and pre-emptive defence of it pretty gross, and entirely alien to how I engage with supporting this club, and my love of football in general.

And forgive me if I don’t in good faith think that a lot (not all) of people now pretending it’s all because of their newly found rabid hatred of the Glazers (no Glazer thread on this site has ever been as long or contentious as this!) wouldnt have been the same people dismissing or laughing at those who initially opposed them… because the snarky “I wonder whether those pesky moralists will still support the club or feck off!?” rhetoric sounds exactly like some past insults lobbied at United fans during a takeover… and it wasn’t by those against it.

Yep. Nailed it.

"Oh but we'll be different...."

Ha.

 

[mu4c_20le]

You'd need to have essentially zero media literacy to interpret it that way.

Doesn't your media literacy tell you that the reuters piece is an obvious briefing?

 

[Bosws87]

Yeah I am convinced Stone has been told to put out that line until club announces. Remember how many times he has done this with transfers too.

There’s a reason why stones is hailed as super accurate, because he never says anything until it’s been confirmed in public space.

 

[Cassidy]

By process I only consider first formal contacts between parties which was mid February. November was when the Glazer family announced that the club was for sale.

Again wrong. The bid deadline was mid feb, Raine group were appointed in November and interested parties would have been in contact from then. Do you seriously believe that first contact was made mid Feb (when that was the bid deadline?)

 

[Chief123]

If Qatar gets announced as the preferred bidder , I fear we might see even higher prices quoted for some of our transfer targets.

Historically it’s not even been the fact we’ve been given high prices which has caused us problems. It’s the fact we are incredibly slow at doing anything and end up missing out on transfers. Hopefully we will be quicker with making decisions going forward. If any clubs gets silly with their quotes, we can move on quickly to other targets.

The world knows Man City have silly money yet they are still able to complete transfers efficiently.

 

[Cassidy]

Probably would have if Jim hadn't made the part ownership offer.

Agree

 

[jm99]

Doesn't your media literacy tell you that the reuters piece is an obvious briefing?

No, not really. Reuters is a very trusted news source, and if they're running an exclusive like this then it's probably not far off. The pro Jim lot are just raging that they bought into every story that British journos have running for a month or two now and look like mugs, so they're trying to discredit actually reputable news sources

 

[Gurtej]

It’s DONE.

Reuters won’t be putting up a significant story unless it’s coming from horses mouth. They have an incredible reputation to defend.

British Journos knows shit!

 

[Tiber]

So what's the actual source here? Just Rio and Reuters?

I mean I'll take it but nothing is definite

Reuters is fairly big deal

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Historically it’s not even been the fact we’ve been given high prices which has caused us problems. It’s the fact we are incredibly slow at doing anything and end up missing out on transfers. Hopefully we will be quicker with making decisions going forward. If any clubs gets silly with their quotes, we can move on quickly to other targets.

The world knows Man City have silly money yet they are still able to complete transfers efficiently.

This. Having backup plans gives us bargaining power and prevents us from being taken to the cleaners.

 

[jm99]

Historically it’s not even been the fact we’ve been given high prices which has caused us problems. It’s the fact we are incredibly slow at doing anything and end up missing out on transfers. Hopefully we will be quicker with making decisions going forward. If any clubs gets silly with their quotes, we can move on quickly to other targets.

The world knows Man City have silly money yet they are still able to complete transfers efficiently.

Yeah, if jassim and his team show that they aren't going to be fleeced and tbh this bidding process has me somewhat optimistic that they won't be, then we'll likely see the end of the Woodward style of overpaying for everyone

 

[Cassidy]

Doesn't your media literacy tell you that the reuters piece is an obvious briefing?

Head of US M&A at Reuters isn't going to publish this without it coming from a serious source with verification

 

[Sauxees Moi Hui]

Here is what Reuters is reporting.

Obviously, Qatar and SJR have wanted exclusivity from the start. They would have exchanged merger agreement drafts with the Glazers, ironed out potential bid details, etc.

The news today is that the Glazers are prepared to sign a binding legal document with Qatar that will prevent the Glazers from engaging in any negotiations with SJR for a specified period of time. Once this document is signed, the intention will be for the Glazers and Qatar to get to a signed deal. This binding legal document is being negotiated now.

This is huge for the Qatar bid, and represents a major development in negotiations.

 

[Syphon Wallet]

Damn, so many new pages so quickly, I thought something happened. Turns out nothing has happened.

I mean, it's a pretty significant update, even if it's not completed yet.

 

[JPRouve]

Again wrong. The bid deadline was mid feb, Raine group were appointed in November and interested parties would have been in contact from then. Do you seriously believe that first contact was made mid Feb (when that was the bid deadline?)

Mid February didn't include bids? Unless I missed something the mid february deadline was about tabling interest, it wasn't a negotiation or bidding phase. So yeah, unless I missed something the mid-february deadline didn't include prior formal talks.

 

[mu4c_20le]

No, not really. Reuters is a very trusted news source, and if they're running an exclusive like this then it's probably not far off. The pro Jim lot are just raging that they bought into every story that British journos have running for a month or two now and look like mugs, so they're trying to discredit actually reputable news sources

Wait, who is discrediting reuters?

Head of US M&A at Reuters isn't going to publish this without it coming from a serious source with verification

The source could be Raine. No one is saying the report is wrong ?

 

[Champ]

It will happen. It’s inevitable. It might not be right away, but it will. We will one day be involved in a transfer, or a re-development, or a something which requires us to spend more than we’d budgeted for, or should be able to spend, and the people that own us, who’ve never had to deal with not getting their way or encountered a problem they couldn’t solve with money, will find a way to get that money used for their gain….

Just like City did, despite it being perfectly possible to grow them more organically over time, just like Newcastle are already doing with their sponsors, despite already being a more “marketable” team than City were, and just like Qatar themselves did with the Neymar & Mbappe deals that broke the transfer market, or the World Cup bid that saw 7 FIFA officials arrested in the aftermath and a criminal investigation opened into the bidding process FFS!

it will happen. And all the same people will excuse it and defend it, precisely because being Man Utd will be the perfect cover for it, and a much more easily defendable reason for spending ludicrous sums. And even if it doesn’t, there will always be doubts as to whether it had. That’s tainting. It’s what tainting is. City haven’t been “convicted” of anything yet, but their success is tainted because everyone already believes they have.
So yes, it will happen.

You think it’s annoying having “moralists” in our own fanbase now? You’re gonna get bored of “defending” it. And of seeing everyone portray our non-state owned rivals as “proper” clubs and the moral victors whenever they beat us.

That’s the trade off. It’s absolutely fine to some, I’m sure. Many even. And being resigned to it is perfectly fine. But forgive me if I find the celebration and pre-emptive defence of it pretty gross, and entirely alien to how I engage with supporting this club, and my love of football in general.

And forgive me if I don’t in good faith think that a lot (not all) of people now pretending it’s all because of their newly found rabid hatred of the Glazers (no Glazer thread on this site has ever been as long or contentious as this!) wouldnt have been the same people dismissing or laughing at those who initially opposed them… because the snarky “I wonder whether those pesky moralists will still support the club or feck off!?” rhetoric sounds exactly like some past insults lobbied at United fans during a takeover… and it wasn’t by those against it.

Whilst I certainly don't want the Qatari bid to be successful for several reasons, I do think the whole potential of bypassing FFP is slightly overblown.

I would imagine they would bring in extra sponsorships from Qatar, without doubt.
However to redevelop the owners can use external money without it conflicting on FFP,
Also City were a different entity to we are now, meaning the owners there wanted everything as quick as possible from a lower baseline.
Here United are still making money and can till grow their financial revenue streams.

So whilst I agree to a point with what you are saying, I don't think it's inevitable that Qatari owners would flout rules.

 

[cyberman]

Yeah I am convinced Stone has been told to put out that line until club announces. Remember how many times he has done this with transfers too.

What’s clear is that Reuters has a source that cracked and is an actual source while nobody else has.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Here is what Reuters is reporting.

Obviously, Qatar and SJR have wanted exclusivity from the start. They would have exchanged merger agreement drafts with the Glazers, ironed out potential bid details, etc.

The news today is that the Glazers are prepared to sign a binding legal document with Qatar that will prevent the Glazers from engaging in any negotiations with SJR for a specified period of time. Once this document is signed, the intention will be for the Glazers and Qatar to get to a signed deal. This binding legal document is being negotiated now.

This is huge for the Qatar bid, and represents a major development in negotiations.

This. I've worked on some transactions where the seller chose their preferred buyer after a few rounds of bidding; in all these cases, there were a few days in between the buyer being selected and the legal paperwork being signed to officially kick off the exclusivity period. It's happening.

 

[Chief123]

Yeah, if jassim and his team show that they aren't going to be fleeced and tbh this bidding process has me somewhat optimistic that they won't be, then we'll likely see the end of the Woodward style of overpaying for everyone

It’s becoming evident throughout this process the Glazers are probably the biggest culprits at how slow we are with getting anything done. It’s no wonder we’ve regularly missed out on targets where it involves more than one club in the race.

 

[croadyman]

There’s a reason why stones is hailed as super accurate, because he never says anything until it’s been confirmed in public space.

Yeah and I am certain that's why Jacobs and SSN sources are saying the same thing

 

[LARulz]

What's the conflicting report? Can threadmarks be updated please

 

[Bastian]

What's the conflicting report? Can threadmarks be updated please

+2

 

[Syphon Wallet]

There’s a reason why stones is hailed as super accurate, because he never says anything until it’s been confirmed in public space.

Nothing wrong with that, people's thirst for transfer info is why all these POS "sports journos" exist.

I've grown tired of it and rely on stone/BBC

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

Reuters are concrete solid in terms of reliability. They won’t be posting a story out just for the sake of it compared to a Mark Goldbridge or Ben Jacobs. They will have properly done their ground work before posting something as big as this.

 

[Laurencio]

Reuters is as certain as it gets. They could end up not coming to an agreement, but it certainly seems like the Qataris are in the lead.

 

[Cassidy]

Mid February didn't include bids? Unless I missed something the mid february deadline was about tabling interest, it wasn't a negotiation or bidding phase. So yeah, unless I missed something the mid-february deadline didn't include prior formal talks.

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...d-bidders-cost-deadline-tonight-b1060705.html

The initial deadline set by the Glazers for the first round of bids was on Friday, February 17. There was then a second round after the major consortiums met with United staff members, including chief executive Richard Arnold. Finally, Friday’s deadline signalled the end of the bidding process.

The second round is where those who got through the first round were vetted and then got to look at Uniteds books
Friday's deadline was before Easter. The preferred bidder was supposed to be chosen at that point.

BIdding war was expected but it didn't materialise and as we know Glazers even went outside the process, calling PSG chairman to try and get more money our of Qatar

 

[croadyman]

Yeah think it's mental that some people are saying nothing has happened today. We have had information from THREE different sources for a start.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

What's the conflicting report? Can threadmarks be updated please

There are no conflicting reports. It's all semantics.

 

[Pexbo]

If I had to guess I’d say that was a strategic leak from the Glazers or Raine to signal the balance has shifted considerably to encourage a final Hail Mary from Ratcliffe before they hit the button.

 

[JJ12]

The commanders started their process a bit earlier than United and ended it last month, though its worth mentioning that their owner was essentially thrown out of the NFL for a range of issues.

Edit: It should be said that while there is an agreement to sale the Commanders to Josh Harris, the sale isn't concluded.

Yeah Dan Snyder isn’t a very nice man it seems. The process is long, we as football fans aren’t very patient. The Glazers are businessmen as much as we hate them they are selling their golden egg, it was always going to be a long process.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Nothing wrong with that, people's thirst for transfer info is why all these POS "sports journos" exist.

I've grown tired of it and rely on stone/BBC

He seems to be suggesting that Stoney is withholding information until he's given the green light

 

[JJ12]

Chelsea had a very hard deadline because of the whole Russian thing.

I don’t think either of the sales I mentioned were good examples for this particular process to be fair. It was just out of interest.

 

[TrebleChamp99]

Sky Sports, Ben Jacobs and Simon Stone may as well be the sun or Daily Star when it comes to business and acquisitions.

They will absolutely not have any insight or knowledge as this is a business transaction whereas Reuters absolutely tier 1 and not to mention their editor and head of B&A news is reporting this.

 

[alexthelion]

I thought we were having more thunderstorms just now but turns out it was the noise of you stamping your feet while putting your tantrum down in writing.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

What Stone said doesn't even contradict Reuters though. "No exclusivity granted" is legally true until the LOI is signed.

 

[Cassidy]

They didn't get exclusive talks, mate. This is why journos like Stoney exist.

You think Stoney is a better source than Reuters head of M&A? In anycase Reuters didn't say exclusivity had been granted, they said the negotiations to sign the exclusivity agreement were underway

 

[JJ12]

Sky Sports, Ben Jacobs and Simon Stone may as well be the sun or Daily Star when it comes to business and acquisitions.

They will absolutely not have any insight or knowledge as this is a business transaction whereas Reuters absolutely tier 1 and not to mention their editor and head of B&A news is reporting this.

They can only go off club sources or sources close the potential buyers -
I don’t think it’s about their specific knowledge

 

[Cassidy]

What Stone said doesn't even contradict Reuters though. "No exclusivity granted" is legally true until the LOI is signed.

Exactly and its what United legally would be allowed to say anyway