Club Sale | It’s done!

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I never got the outrage at the Glazers taking dividends. So did the shareholders under the PLC. The Edwards would skim off the top before this. Yet with the Glazers it was treated like some unprecedented, egregious act that shouldn't be tolerated.
I may be wrong but barely any owner does it in PL.
 
What makes little sense is to choose to ignore everything we know (which is quite a lot) about the prospective buyers.

I do give any owner the same chance - if they represent interests I'm comfortable about owning the club I support, and have given anyone reason to believe they'll run a major sports team competently and with the right ambition, they have my support. If not, I consider it bad news that they are involved in the takeover race. The notion that anyone is welcome and should be given a few years to show what they can do before anyone really forms an opinion is just absurd.
Not taking a stance at the moment, doesn't mean ignoring and you know that. There is nothing wrong with a "wait and see" approach
 
Or maybe he gifts it to MUST or Redcafe admins. Who knows?

Do you really believe that INEOS ie a private company will gift a 5b asset away? Their shares would plummet as everyone will believe that the company is owned by a mad man.

The Ratcliffe loyalists are truly hilarious
 
I never got the outrage at the Glazers taking dividends. So did the shareholders under the PLC. The Edwards would skim off the top before this. Yet with the Glazers it was treated like some unprecedented, egregious act that shouldn't be tolerated.

Taking dividends is fine if you’re in a good place financially. Glazers did it without investing anything into the club. There’s a difference in optics. That’s without getting into the whole debt which the club were paying for.
 
What has the owner of the Islamic Bank won just out of interest?

I'm sure Ratcliffe is happy with his mediocre life, owning two football clubs, one of which is improving all the time and being a multi billionaire. He just thrives on mediocrity :lol: :wenger:

We all know who will be calling the shots
 
You don't understand why anyone would assume they'd use the model they already have, rather than wildly invent something entirely new that could be anything really? Seriously?

In any case, it's not just a question of model, but also of competence. PSG is a spectacle more than a football team. Presumably because that's the sort of team their owners want.
By that logic Richard Arnold should have been a Woody clone yet he seem to have let football guys do the football thing instead of following the model he was closely involved with.
 
A 5b investment is a 5b investment just as 800m debt is 800m debt. Ineos will ask 4 a ROI. That might happen now or once the 70 year old Chelsea season ticket holder die

Or they’ll be proud owners of a club that increases in value year on year. INEOS don’t require instant ROI, they are diversifying into sport rather than saving those hundreds of millions for profit and dividends.
INEOS will make money regardless of what happens at United.

So many were originally claiming the INEOS interest was a PR stunt, but owning the World’s most famous club… you can’t get better PR or more exposure than that.

Let’s not also pretend that company owners only buy boxes/executive suits at clubs they support man, they entertain clients, and having a London club makes sense for it. He’s not a fecking “season ticket holder” in remotely the meaning you are claiming man :lol:
 
Structure of deal is not announced. Not sure why you are making sound like you have some sort of official document. Right now structure of both deal is just speculation

Well the official offer from Qatari bank which is actually the biggest bank in middle east and they have clearly confirmed what they are hoping to achieve with the club and the they will make it debt free and spend on the youth and infrastructure.
 
Sad day when the Qatari own us but there aren't many options with our price tag I guess. Ethics and values aside, I really hope they don't get too involved in footballing matters, go the PSG route but that's a tall order.
 
Or they’ll be proud owners of a club that increases in value year on year. INEOS don’t require instant ROI, they are diversifying into sport rather than saving those hundreds of millions for profit and dividends.
INEOS will make money regardless of what happens at United.

Why would they do that? United ROI is small compared to how much they can get as a brand name. If they sell in 10 yeara time they'll make far more profit then we will generate in 40 years. Or you believe that all ineos major shareholders will be united fans as well,
 
Do you really believe that INEOS ie a private company will gift a 5b asset away? Their shares would plummet as everyone will believe that the company is owned by a mad man.

The Ratcliffe loyalists are truly hilarious

On which market would Ineos’s shares plummet?

Wondering how that works for a private company?
 
Not taking a stance at the moment, doesn't mean ignoring and you know that. There is nothing wrong with a "wait and see" approach

Yes, that is exactly what it does mean. A wait and see approach needs to be justified by something more than a pretense that anything could happen. "Wait and see" is the appropriate attitude to a candidate that has enough going for it that they deserve a shot at running this club. Could you give your reasons for why it would be reasonable to assume that the Qatari group could be a good option? Because that is not the case a priori.
 
On which market would Ineos’s shares plummet?

Wondering how that works for a public company?

If they start donating 10b assets them they will lose investors confidence
 
Why would they do that? United ROI is small compared to how much they can get as a brand name. If they sell in 10 yeara time they'll make far more profit then we will generate in 40 years. Or you believe that all ineos major shareholders will be united fans as well,

They clearly don’t care much about ROI in their sporting ventures, they care more about keeping the profits down, hence them spending feck tonnes on sport.
The main company will always make feck tonnes, it’s the World’s fourth largest chemicals company man.
 
Bloody hell, at least another month of this... :boring:

I don’t know, I think stuff like this is always worth pointing out.

The entire thing feels like a bad fever dream. Why is Qatar hosting the World Cup? Qatar. I want off this timeline.

Some of the takes in this thread are shocking, even for this place.

I'm sure all the dead workers and all the oppressed and the soon-to-be-killed in that part of the world feel much better now that they know Europeans did the same centuries ago.

Isn't that what I said? It's a ridiculous... argument, if you can even call it that. "Oh, Europeans killed millions awhile ago, so we should also be allowed to kill a bunch of people."

leading to this week:
I'll be gutted if it's not Qatar now. I'l be crying into my cornflakes proper. I've already let my dreams go wild in my head about signings and stadium and everything.
 
The almost begging for Qatar to come in any prospective owner is a bit embarrassing. Be happy the Glazers are going? Yes, sure. If you must, you can stick your head in the sand about the myriad of ethical,social and political issues. Even then, any buyer should be treated with suspicion, not as a saviour

Obscene wealth is no guarantee of either competence or good intentions. No guarantee of respect for our history, our traditions, our fans. No guarantee we don’t end up with another Woodward but with a bigger chequebook running the club and killing any positive steps made by Ten Hag. Some scepticism, scrutiny and self-respect needed. Please
I wholeheartedly agree with what you said. Even ignoring the human rights issues, Qataris buying the club does not differ us from the other oil clubs now.

We can go on a path where we will just spend 500 million every window, change managers as fast as PSG does and create a squad filled with unlikeable primadonnas. If that's what everyone wants, fine. I certainly don't.
 
What's next steps from club? I can't imagine this will be first round of bidding

Announce a number of bids were received and write to the top 3 highest inviting them to submit their final offer?
 
They clearly don’t care much about ROI in their sporting ventures, they care more about keeping the profits down, hence them spending feck tonnes on sport.
The main company will always make feck tonnes.

That can be achieved with smaller clubs not with a 5b-10b juggernaut
 
If everything what has been said about the Qatar guy is true, it's better than we could have hoped for though. Big United fan, ready to invest money in the stadium, youth and clear the debt.
 
It’s a private company which he owns two thirds of.

No one knows anyone’s intentions but I can guarantee neither bidder will want United to flop. At this price both are buying as a vanity or promotional prospect.

Ineos live in debt. Good luck persuading banks and external investors to invest In a company that donate 5b assets away
 
Ratcliffe is doing a heavily leveraged bid backed by goldman sachs, made zero promises to invest in the infrastructure, stadium and surrounding area and people are still backing this bid?

Virtue signalling is a hell of a drug.
 
Ratcliffe is doing a heavily leveraged bid backed by goldman sachs, made zero promises to invest in the infrastructure, stadium and surrounding area and people are still backing this bid?

Virtue signalling is a hell of a drug.

What statement have INEOS made?

Not sure anyone is backing the bid, just not writing it off till we know much more.
 
Umpteen times it's been said now. SJR will not be borrowing 5bn, INEOS would pay that fee via whatever means but the only debt taken on would be via GS to the tune of 800m to pay off our remaining debt... So INEOS would be taking on 800m not 5bn - it's pocket change to a company like them.
This is patently not true. SJW has not officially told us anything about the structure of of his financing package to acquire United, so anything you said in your post is just your own opinion.
Well the official offer from Qatari bank which is actually the biggest bank in middle east and they have clearly confirmed what they are hoping to achieve with the club and the they will make it debt free and spend on the youth and infrastructure.
This is not true. Qatar Ismamic Bank is actually a smallish bank in the region.


Cheatsheet - Ratcliffe/INEOS vs Jassim/NinetyTwo Foundation
1. INEOS is massive chemical company, NinetyTwo Foundation is controlled by Jassim who is ex-crown prince of Qatar , Qatar is massive gas producer.
2. INEOS is a company, NinetyTwo is a foundation (all big companies/foundations/funds work with States).
3. INEOS owns another club in Ligue 1, Nice. Jassim's family is involved with QSI that owns PSG in Ligue 1.
4. Ratcliffe needs substantial debt (only reason Goldman Sachs involved) that will probably dwarf existing debt, Jassim says club will be debt-free and profits will be ploughed back into the club.
5. Ratcliffe lives in Monaco but from Manchester, Jassim lives in Qatar but educated at Harrow/Sandhurst in England.
6. Ratcliffe is lifelong Man Utd fan, Jassim is lifelong Man Utd fan.
7. Ratcliffe is Christian and white, Jassim is Muslim and brown.
This is not true.
 
I don’t believe them one bit. It’s easy to declare the moral high stand on the Internet but when you are a fan for decades it’s not just easy to quit like who is even keeping an eye on them whether they would support or quit? There is no way to prove otherwise but I bet they would still be watching us and celebrating every goal.
Maybe, and i would never manage without United in my life, but people do things i cant every day so i guess atleast some would actually quit supporting us. Some left when the Glazers took over.
 
Invest in the infrastructure, build world class youth set up and scouting system. Let the manager bring in players he wants and let's develop an identity on the pitch.

That's the ideal. But my fear is we'll bring in all mercenaries we've seen enough of over the years just because a new owner wants to wave his dick about to show it's bigger than anyone elses
 
Invest in the infrastructure, build world class youth set up and scouting system. Let the manager bring in players he wants and let's develop an identity on the pitch.

That's the ideal. But my fear is we'll bring in all mercenaries we've seen enough of over the years just because a new owner wants to wave his dick about to show it's bigger than anyone elses
The Qataris need to understand that we don't need any more self-entitled superstars who aren't willing to graft when we're out of posession, i.e. the next Neymar. They need to keep their noses out of the footballing side of things.
 
Its not a history lesson, its an example. 'Growing them into a brand with far bigger reputation' i'll definitely give you, cant deny that. Its their footballing achievements which i find questionable. I think Lyon and Monaco are examples of french clubs who built up a good scouting network and good youth academy respectively and achieved success in europe with some good teams. Achievable success by most french clubs i would imagine but you already know im not an expert. I respected that and what they built.
PSG feels like a hollow marketing company. I find them cheap and tacky and plastic. They were given cheat codes and have bought a bunch of players with little connection or care for the club and it just feels empty to me.

Monaco are historically state owned and benefitted from different tax laws, they then got sold to a russian oligarch, Lyon were nothing until Seydoux(one of the wealthiest man in France) and Aulas sugar daddied them into a french powerhouse, it's only after that they really focused on their academy(in the late 2000s-early 2010s).

Historically there is no actual difference between these three clubs, Monaco are the ones that found success earlier but PSG came to the front in the late 80s-early 90s with the exact same model that Lyon later followed. Out of the three the new club is Lyon, not PSG.
 
One bid gives us the opportunity to be best in class, the other lets you say morals, morals, morals as the other clubs who don’t care pick up all the trophies.

The majority of the pushback from other fans is sheer terror that United would be in a place to use their extraordinary global power to full, they couldn’t care less about the state of life in Qatar.

There isn’t a right answer.
 
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