Could Utd be sold soon?

[ColvaleGoa]

I would absolutely hate it if United got bought by the Saudis. Everything that is morally wrong with that country and this would just be to whitewash their public profile.

Wonder if any of our sponsors would have anything to say about this!

 

[Jippy]

I am giving a valid reason that on it's own merit should be a good enough reason for us to never want them to own our club. Comparing them to hitler is quite apt as like hitler, they are dictators who kill innocent people based on their family of birth.

It belongs in this thread since we are expressing our views on the idea of United being sold to this Saudi regime. It's not much of a debate if we just look at it from "football" perceptive. Yeah they are sugardaddies and we will have more transfer budget under any sugardaddy owner, what's to discuss about that?

This encapsulates the problems with this thread and why Niall has talked about closing it.

You say there is not much argument on the football side, if they're sugardaddies. But equally, is there much on the moral fibre of the Saudi regime side? Few would argue it's a wholesome, tolerant regime, let's be honest. You can argue about the extent of the damage that it could potentially have on commercial relationships or whether fans would be that appalled that they would stop supporting the club, but beyond that the whole thing is arguably a morals v money argument, which will no doubt be endlessly circular.

 

[MancunianAngels]

Hope so. Their culture won't effect anything on the pitch. We'll back where we belong & that's all that matters.

That’s all that matters? Really?

 

[Halds]

I can just imagine the scousers ranting should it happen.

We would probably react very differently, like you do in here. Personally, it would make me sad.

I don't like the way football has developed in recent years. Money talks, they always have, but we are at a point, where it's getting ridiculous. I didn't particular like the takeovers in Chelsea and City. They haven't played with the same rules as the rest of us, where we have had to be clever and smart on and off the field to achieve succes.

Now.. Chelsea and City doing it is one thing. If it happens to you, it would be on a completely different level. You are one of the biggest clubs in the world. You are an institution in football, and you are luckily our fiercest rival too. Your club and our rivalry is a big part of what makes football tick for me.

But if you go down that road, where it's all about getting the most loaded sugardaddy, then football has officially gone down a road, where I would struggle to see the point of it all, and that would make me extremely sad.

 

[RedCurry]

This encapsulates the problems with this thread and why Niall has talked about closing it.

You say there is not much argument on the football side, if they're sugardaddies. But equally, is there much on the moral fibre of the Saudi regime side? Few would argue it's a wholesome, tolerant regime, let's be honest. You can argue about the extent of the damage that it could potentially have on commercial relationships or whether fans would be that appalled that they would stop supporting the club, but beyond that the whole thing is arguably a morals v money argument, which will no doubt be endlessly circular.

Yes exactly, it is indeed a sugar daddy vs moral issue and hence my view should stand in this thread. You can’t just have one side of the argument in a debate and ask the other side to put their views somewhere else.

 

[Jippy]

Yes exactly, it is indeed a sugar daddy vs moral issue and hence my view should stand in this thread. You can’t just have one side of the argument in a debate and ask the other side to put their views somewhere else.

I completely agree with your viewpoint, as do most vaguely decent people, I'm sure. The point about the CE forum being more suitable remains though.

 

[99withaflake]

Yes exactly, it is indeed a sugar daddy vs moral issue and hence my view should stand in this thread. You can’t just have one side of the argument in a debate and ask the other side to put their views somewhere else.

Pains me to say it but you're right.

The moral issue is directly linked to the potential takeover of the football club.

Users should be able to discuss:

• why they're comfortable with the Saudi royal family taking over the club
• why they're not comfortable with the Saudi royal family taking over the club
• what types of owners we would and wouldn't we accept
• where the line should be drawn
• what impact it would have on the image and reputation of the brand
• what impact it would have on our finances and transfer budget
• what impact it would have on the way the business is run
• etc etc etc

I understand that admins may not feel comfortable watching this type of debate, but it's going to happen when the Saudi royal family are linked with buying Manchester United Football Club.

 

[stevoc]

while ethically it isn't great at all, they would at least allow us to spend what we earn and not have to worry about debt and repayments. If we were to say no to a takeover and refuse to allow them to buy us, they would more than likely turn there attentions to a rival of ours. They have so much money they could buy any club they want without a care, there money will be getting spent in the world of football regardless of our stance. Of course this doesn't make it right, but doing the right thing will probably make little to no difference in the end result.

Not sure exactly what the figures are in 2018, but in the past having debt has resulted in the club not having to pay corporation tax. So if new owners paid off all the debt the money currently being used to finance that debt wouldn't necessarily be available to spend on players.

 

[MuFc_1992]

No you won't.
You'll watch every match with great anticipation as you wait to see how our latest Galactico performs... just like the rest of us.
And if Mbappe, Messi or whoever we buy fail to score a hat-trick, you'll be moaning just like the other people on this forum.

Stop assuming what other people are going to do for ffs.

 

[MuFc_1992]

People who have an issue with Tyrants who systematically enslave, torture, murder, subjugate and decapitate NON-WHITE people are, er, racist??

Do elaborate.....

Either he's a WUM or he is ridiculously unaware about the details about foreign countries and is ready to brand any nuanced discussions about them as racism.

 

[glazed]

I don't really think football has much moral fabric left to worry about it tbh it's quite hard to find a new low, but this would be one. Short of being owned by North Korea, you can't really find worse people on the planet.

Then again we all buy their petrol. We're all complicit.

 

[WensleyMU]

The consensus from those in favour boils down to this, it would catapult United back to the top.

There's no guarantee of that, for one. And in some ways, United are already at the top. Commercially United tower above most, and that's been achieved with us being off the pace footballing wise these past 5 years. On the pitch weve fallen away, but have we fallen far enough to be so desperate and shameless to want such people to take over? Its been five fecking years since we won the title, five. Not 60, not 34, not 28, not 26 not even 14. It's been 5. It's a bit sad really.

 

[MuFc_1992]

I don't really think football has much moral fabric left to worry about it tbh it's quite hard to find a new low, but this would be one. Short of being owned by North Korea, you can't really find worse people on the planet.

Then again we all buy their petrol. We're all complicit.

You don't specifically go and ask for petrol coming from Saudi. This issue is more about people and their perception of their own morality rather than making any tangible impact on the world which IMO is not possible on an individual level

 

[WensleyMU]

I don't really think football has much moral fabric left to worry about it tbh it's quite hard to find a new low, but this would be one. Short of being owned by North Korea, you can't really find worse people on the planet.

Then again we all buy their petrol. We're all complicit.

It's hard to get exact figures as it's often lumped together as crude but Saudi oil imports in to the UK are quite small, low single digit % of our total imports.

 

[Kinsella]

The UFC's parent company has just pulled out of a deal with them.

 

[RedCurry]

It's hard to get exact figures as it's often lumped together as crude but Saudi oil imports in to the UK are quite small, low single digit % of our total imports.

Besides, UK can always cancel business relations with an entity. You can’t exactly cancel the ownership of our club.

 

[sglowrider]

FFP is more concerned with revenue vs expenditure. Our revenues wouldn't change much and our expenditures shouldn't be affected much either. That's my understanding anyway.

Hypothetically if some owner bought the club for, say $4 billion, they would in return gain an asset worth $4 billion.

Cheers! I had always assumed that the FFP was meant to force owners to be sensible in their running of the business including profitability -- and a 4Billion quid investment will require some profits.

But technically, it makes sense as there will not be any costs to the purchase if its outright. Unlike now where there are still interest charges.

Out Glazers! In with MBS!!

 

[Infra-red]

The UFC's parent company has just pulled out of a deal with them.

That's not surprising and surely won't be the last. In light of recent events, the Saudis are toxic. Apart from Trump, it's hard to imagine anyone (including the Glazers) making a public show of doing business with them at the moment.

 

[sglowrider]

Look on the bright side, at least now the Saudi women can drive to OT to watch the matches.

Thats progress.

 

[FujiVice]

2022 would be mad wouldnt it? City owned by a Qatar billionaire, United owned by the Saudis and the World Cup in December? Try telling someone in 2005 that that was the future of football

 

[The Boy]

It's hard to get exact figures as it's often lumped together as crude but Saudi oil imports in to the UK are quite small, low single digit % of our total imports.

BBC says the percentage of all oil imported into the UK from Saudi Arabia in 2017 was 3%

 

[VJ1762]

2022 would be mad wouldnt it? City owned by a Qatar billionaire, United owned by the Saudis and the World Cup in December? Try telling someone in 2005 that that was the future of football

When you put it that way, it is really depressing. Man, it would be nice if we got an owner like Paul Allen. He was revered in Seattle and Portland.

We would probably react very differently, like you do in here. Personally, it would make me sad.

I don't like the way football has developed in recent years. Money talks, they always have, but we are at a point, where it's getting ridiculous. I didn't particular like the takeovers in Chelsea and City. They haven't played with the same rules as the rest of us, where we have had to be clever and smart on and off the field to achieve succes.

Now.. Chelsea and City doing it is one thing. If it happens to you, it would be on a completely different level. You are one of the biggest clubs in the world. You are an institution in football, and you are luckily our fiercest rival too. Your club and our rivalry is a big part of what makes football tick for me.

But if you go down that road, where it's all about getting the most loaded sugardaddy, then football has officially gone down a road, where I would struggle to see the point of it all, and that would make me extremely sad.

I don't like the way the modern game has gone either. But you can also argue that without the oil money at Chelsea and City, the PL wouldn't be that competitive( me personally, I don't give a feck about competition.) But then when they go and spend 200 million euros to replace a defence and then buy backup defenders and wingers for 120 milion total, you have got to wonder, if having a sugar daddy is the only way to remain competitive. Doesn't help that we didn't plan for the departure of the great man properly. And our manager is more interested in playing petty games with the board. And Utd's board doesn't have the balls to make a decision.

 

[Ronaldo's Mum Eh?]

Are there credible sources now coming out?

 

[Seven Seas Sardines]

I wonder what would happen to our new women's team.

 

[gaucho_10]

Selling to them would make you look like a plastic club, no different then the clubs that had no history, no heritage and are now in tier 1 of European football.

It was Milan and Inter first, but circumstances were different for them. For United to follow it would be a sad thing for football, a capitulation of the beautiful game to some Arab nobodies who want their new toys for political propaganda or just because they can.

Bundes liga is also opening up because there's no other way to compete so for them it's a matter of when, not if.

Few years from now Real, Barca and Bilbao will be the last standing.

 

[Gordon S]

I would hate it if we became a propaganda tool for one of the dirtiest regimes on the planet.

I rather we tried to play it smart with the resources we do have. We are certainly rich enough to compete for the big trophies anyway.

 

[Anduin]

Selling to them would make you look like a plastic club, no different then the clubs that had no history, no heritage and are now in tier 1 of European football.

It was Milan and Inter first, but circumstances were different for them. For United to follow it would be a sad thing for football, a capitulation of the beautiful game to some Arab nobodies who want their new toys for political propaganda or just because they can.

Bundes liga is also opening up because there's no other way to compete so for them it's a matter of when, not if.

Few years from now Real, Barca and Bilbao will be the last standing.

Things is while I agree with most of what you're saying, there is very little we as supporters can do about it. United as a brand is worth way too much for a supporters' buyout to even be considered as an option, and only the very super rich will be able to purchase the club one way or another. Medium term it was always likely we would end up with an owner from the Middle East or maybe China, but due to the prize the options are very limited. All of this basically traces back to the early 2000s when the Glazers started to buy shares... now it's just a question of how bad it will be(come) in terms of the ownership.

 

[deafepl]

Are there credible sources now coming out?

Independent, The Telegraph, Skysports, etc. United refuse to deny this despite United's share price on the New York Stock Exchange rose by more than five per cent on last Monday due to Saudi Arabia interested in United. If it is false, they wouldn't allow it to manipulate share prices.

 

[Heardy]

I wonder what would happen to our new women's team.

They wouldn’t disband it surely? That’d be a car crash to allow that to happen.

 

[gaucho_10]

Things is while I agree with most of what you're saying, there is very little we as supporters can do about it. United as a brand is worth way too much for a supporters' buyout to even be considered as an option, and only the very super rich will be able to purchase the club one way or another. Medium term it was always likely we would end up with an owner from the Middle East or maybe China, but due to the prize the options are very limited. All of this basically traces back to the early 2000s when the Glazers started to buy shares... now it's just a question of how bad it will be(come) in terms of the ownership.

I know what you mean, but to me it always felt like United was one of the pillars of the game. Arabs or Chinese buying the club would not sit well with me even as a Real Madrid fan.

 

[Coops73]

Independent, The Telegraph, Skysports, etc. United refuse to deny this despite United's share price on the New York Stock Exchange rose by more than five per cent on last Monday due to Saudi Arabia interested in United. If it is false, they wouldn't allow it to manipulate share prices.

Good point, I don’t know too much about stock market shizzle but that would seem slightly illegal no?

Also, if this were to happen there are a lot of people saying we could buy Neymar, Mbappe etc, I really don’t think we’ll ever see any deals between us and the likes of City or PSG no matter how much money we throw at them considering that their respective owners don’t exactly see eye to eye with the Saudis and if people think that we overpaid for the likes of Pogba, if this lot take over you could double that and then some, the so called “United tax” that is added when we buy players would probably be enough to buy a small country.

 

[Skills]

Good point, I don’t know too much about stock market shizzle but that would seem slightly illegal no?

Also, if this were to happen there are a lot of people saying we could buy Neymar, Mbappe etc, I really don’t think we’ll ever see any deals between us and the likes of City or PSG no matter how much money we throw at them considering that their respective owners don’t exactly see eye to eye with the Saudis and if people think that we overpaid for the likes of Pogba, if this lot take over you could double that and then some, the so called “United tax” that is added when we buy players would probably be enough to buy a small country.

Pretty sure the emiratis have no issues with the Saudis. They've always been very tight.

Qatari's are a different matter.

 

[Needham]

With our recent luck, the day after the Saudis bought us Elon Musk would find a way to generate limitless fuel out of pot smoke.

 

[Coops73]

Pretty sure the emiratis have no issues with the Saudis. They've always been very tight.

Qatari's are a different matter.

Oh ok cool, we can buy De Bruyne then. Happy days!

 

[cyberman]

Selling to them would make you look like a plastic club, no different then the clubs that had no history, no heritage and are now in tier 1 of European football.

It was Milan and Inter first, but circumstances were different for them. For United to follow it would be a sad thing for football, a capitulation of the beautiful game to some Arab nobodies who want their new toys for political propaganda or just because they can.

Bundes liga is also opening up because there's no other way to compete so for them it's a matter of when, not if.

Few years from now Real, Barca and Bilbao will be the last standing.

Why though? Money spent etc would still be our own?
Just because we are unhappy with the owners wouldn't make us a plastic club. There would be nothing artificial about Manchester United.

 

[The Last Jedaiiii]

Generally these regimes look at buying football clubs (or other well known businesses) in order to (1) publicise their own countries (2) publicise themselves and, most worryingly (3) become more important on the global stage to avoid legitimate criticism of their regimes.

Whilst I don't particularly like the way the Glazers are running the club, I am against the Saudi Arabian ruling family taking over. What message does it send to our homosexual/female/religious etc fans knowing that the owners of the club they love would quite happily discriminate (or worse) against them?

6

Yes the German model is brilliant but it´s not really how should I put this, Sexy in the millionaires country clubs.

Why don't you look at our own gov't before complaining about the Saudis?
Or the Glazers (who are good friends with MBS and support not only trump, but also the butcher of Palestine, Bibi).

We need to quit being so precious If we wish to achieve this imagined moral high ground and think of solutions like :
1) The German model
2) Also outlaw leveraged buyouts

 

[red thru&thru]

I wonder what would happen to our new women's team.

Why would they be effected?

 

[Kapardin]

Selling to them would make you look like a plastic club, no different then the clubs that had no history, no heritage and are now in tier 1 of European football.

It was Milan and Inter first, but circumstances were different for them. For United to follow it would be a sad thing for football, a capitulation of the beautiful game to some Arab nobodies who want their new toys for political propaganda or just because they can.

Bundes liga is also opening up because there's no other way to compete so for them it's a matter of when, not if.

Few years from now Real, Barca and Bilbao will be the last standing.

However, it's not like the Saudis would be turning us from a Championship club to CL/PL winners overnight. For one thing, we have a rich history of doing everything by ourselves prior to them. Secondly, we need no money from the Saudis to make galactico signings -- club revenues can fund even a 300 mil purchase of Mbappe if necessary. All we need is for the owner to sanction the spend rather than withholding the club's rightful earnings.

 

[Barca84]

That's not surprising and surely won't be the last. In light of recent events, the Saudis are toxic. Apart from Trump, it's hard to imagine anyone (including the Glazers) making a public show of doing business with them at the moment.

On what basis do you think the Glazers would think twice about taking Saudi money? They're businessmen nothing more, nothing less. I doubt they give a feck where the money comes from if they get their price.

 

[SirAF]

On what basis do you think the Glazers would think twice about taking Saudi money? They're businessmen nothing more, nothing less. I doubt they give a feck where the money comes from if they get their price.

Absolutely. 4bn+ and it’s sold.