The Finnish-Swedish businessman Thomas Zilliacus will not try to become the new owner of the British football club Manchester United.
Thomas Zilliacus does not appreciate how the current owner, the Glazer family, chose to drag out the bidding. The American Glazer family has chosen to initiate a third round of the bidding process.
“I have made the decision to withdraw ahead of the third bidding round for United. The bidding is becoming a farce and the Glazer family have no respect for the club. The delays make it difficult for a new owner to build a winning team for next season,” writes Zilliacus on his Twitter.
In addition to Zilliacus, the British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and the Qatari banker Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani have offered to buy the big club United.
“Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim and I were ready to negotiate a deal to buy United. Instead, the Glazer family chose to start another bidding round. I will not participate in a farce whose purpose is to maximize the sellers’ profit at the expense of Manchester United,” says Zilliacus.
Zilliacus announced in March that he had submitted an offer to Manchester United via two companies he owns. He told Yle Sporten that he has been a fan of the club since childhood and primarily wants to give the club back to its supporters.
Zilliacus says he has been a United fan since childhood.
Bild: May Tse / South China Morning Post / Getty Images
Thomas Zilliacus
Zilliacus, 69, has also criticized the way billionaire sheiks and oligarchs take over football clubs and treat them as their own personal playing fields.
The BBC reports that the Glazer family still have the right to keep the club, but that the home stadium, Old Trafford, may need to be renovated.
