Businessman makes £5bn takeover decision after hinting at Liverpool investment interest

Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has pulled out of the Manchester United takeover race.

Bids for the Old Trafford side have gone to a third round - with Zilliacus claiming current owners the Glazer family are giving ‘no respect to the club’.

Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe are in the reckoning, with bids in excess of £5 billion reportedly lodged. However, the Glazer family are said to be holding out for around £6 billion.

Zilliacus, former chairman of Finnish side HJK Helsinki, pledged to buy one half of United through XXI Century Capital, while the other half would be purchased by fans - who would be part of club decision-making.

But now he has withdrawn his offer after the process turned into ‘a farce’. Writing on Twitter, Zilliacus said: “I have declined participation in a third bidding round for United. The bidding is turning into a farce, with Glazers giving no respect to the club. The delays will make it very difficult for any new owner to build a winning team for next season.

“Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim and myself all were ready to negotiate a deal to buy United. Instead, Glazers chose to start a new round. I will not participate in a farce set up to maximize the profit for the sellers at the expense of Manchester United.

“I hope whoever buys United understands how to engage fans. For another top football club, my company has built services that bring in 400 USD per year per participating fan. United’s total revenue in 2022 was 709 million USD. That can be doubled.”

Zilliacus, speaking to CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs, did admit that he would be interested in purchasing a stake in Liverpool should a Man Utd takeover fail. Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are looking for a partial sale of the club.

Zilliacus said: “We would definitely be exploring other options and my brother-in-law would be very happy because his team is Liverpool.

“Yes, we would be looking at other opportunities and we have been looking at other opportunities earlier, also. Definitely if this, for whatever reason is one where the sellers say: ‘No, we are not interested in what you are offering. We want to go with somebody else’ then we have to look elsewhere.”