Not enough made of this. I get not wanting the sheik, we can all make an educated guess that the money was connected to the government somehwhere down the line with that bid.
But if that is an issue, I don;t understand why anyone would then cheer jim on.
Hes a 'local lad' who has to restrict how many nights he spends in his london home so he can avoid paying UK tax.
His money comes from environmentally disastrous industries, and he is as tight with the Saudi ruling family as Jassim is with the Qataris.
A good portion of billionares have connections/investments from shaddy people. The problem with Sheikh was that it was a state ownership. State ownership should never been allowed in the 1st place by either the FA, FIFA, Premiler league or UEFA. But the so called governing bodies don't really care give a F about the integrity of the sporty. So I like most fans came to accept it and preferred Qatar's bid. State ownership is here to stay, that battle has been lost.
Issue with Jim is same with Glazers, he doesn't have the money to afford it. He's taking over but the debt is still in tact. There's a billion needed from somewhere to properly fix the stadiums and training grounds. Are UTD going to take another loan to finance this, adding again to more strain the books. And what about his investors. They are not here because they're football fans, its an investment for them. At some point the people Jim is partnered with will need to get returns on their investments. Are they going to start pulling out dividends while UTD is paying for the Glazer debt.
Again the governing bodies are useless. No club should be sold to people who can't afford it. There should be a rule where an owner can't finance his purchase with hedge funds or placing debts on the club. The EPL should have their clubs and make sure people who take over it are not going to put heavy financial burdens on the club. We need to hear from Jim on the financial plan.
What's the plan to fully take over the club ? Who is financing that ? Do the people financing the purchase require dividends at some point, how will they get their money back ? What's the plan to clear the debt ? How will you finance fixing the stadium and training facilities ? How much will be be available for transfers each summer ?