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Glazers assessing final Manchester United offers with key week ahead
It’s a key week in the Manchester United sale process. The Glazers are assessing final offers. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid was the highest and is believed to be close to £5.2bn ($6.5bn). That number is the 100% club valuation, from which Ratcliffe would pay whatever percentage he takes if successful.
Ratcliffe is flexible. He is prepared to agree to various structures, providing he has control of the club. One option is Joel and Avram Glazer remain with a minority stake, but they would lose their Class B voting power. Ratcliffe will only proceed if he has control.
INEOS has been built on acquiring companies and see their experience in mergers and acquisitions as helpful in this process. Ratcliffe has also earmarked Paul Mitchell as part of the Manchester United project if successful. Mitchell was considered previously for Nice, which is also part of the INEOS group.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, and his Nine Two Foundation, haven’t given up. There was huge confusion over the weekend as to the nature of their offer. Well-placed sources indicated a bid of around £5bn was inclusive of £0.8bn in pledged investment. The latter is not relevant to the process (it’s obviously so important to Manchester United going forward but won’t be considered in the decision making) and would put the club valuation number far lower than Ratcliffe’s. However, those close to the Nine Two Foundation dispute this and state the pledged investment is in addition to a “competitive” offer.
Nine Two Foundation will now await feedback, but sources indicate they haven’t ruled out going directly to the Glazers to try and strike a deal. This would entail removing all intermediaries and potentially even bypassing Raine Group. Whether or not the Glazers would entertain this remains to be seen. Raine are trusted, as is their process. Either way, it is thought the Qatar bid must go up in value via whatever means or route to stand a realistic chance.
A final key point is this shouldn’t be billed as only a straight race between Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim. The April 28 deadline was (and still is) to establish whether a new full or controlling owner is likely, and if so one group will be put forward as the preferred bidder.
But there are also strategic investors still in the process, including Carlyle, Ares, Sixth Street and Elliott. All these options help drive competitive tension, too. So after months of games, and poker faces, early May will be important to understanding the next step as the Glazers must finally show their hand.
Sadio Mane to Chelsea looks unlikely, but Jose Mourinho is a big fan
Sadio Mane’s move to Bayern hasn’t worked out. Mane hasn’t brought his Liverpool form to Germany, scoring only seven Bundesliga goals, which in turn means the void left by Robert Lewandowski hasn’t been filled.
Add to that the physical altercation between Mane and Leroy Sane, leading to the former punching the latter in the face and cutting open his lip, and it’s obvious why there’s a chance Mane leaves Bayern this summer. But as with Ryan Gravenberch – who didn’t enjoy playing under Julian Nagelsmann, and Bayern intend to keep – Thomas Tuchel can still change the narrative.
Mane is perhaps not a tactical fit right now at Bayern, which is why he’s not an automatic starter. Remember, Lewandowski was a target man. And it’s been tough for Mane to settle. He struggled in a 3-4-2-1 under Nagelsmann and had a mid-season fibula injury that kept him out of the World Cup with Senegal.
Although a summer exit is possible, Tuchel is still intent on trying to get the best out of Mane. A lot will depend on whether the player regrets the move and just pushes for another new challenge. Then it won’t suit Bayern to keep an unhappy or demotivated Mane.
What is clear for now is that Chelsea are not currently considering Mane. There have been no talks despite rumours Mauricio Pochettino has earmarked the player as a transfer target should he land the job at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino, at the time of writing, hasn’t signed as the new Chelsea boss, although is widely expected to do so. But Chelsea’s recruitment is done in numbers, and they want a traditional striker – more like Lewandowski than Mane in style, but younger than both. Chelsea want to buy younger players so that transfer fees are investments not expenses. There will always be exceptions to this model, but I don’t anticipate Mane being one of them.
Liverpool are also not considering re-signing Mane. But keep an eye on Roma. No approach has been made to date, but Jose Mourinho is a big fan.
Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool showing interest in Spanish wonderkid Gabri Veiga
Virtually every top club in Europe has been tracking Gabri Veiga. The Celta De Vigo midfielder has nine league goals and four assists this season. With Veiga contracted until 2026, Celta De Vigo’s position has been simple: pay the €40m release clause or there will be no summer transfer. However, as we saw with Enzo Fernandez’s move to Chelsea from Benfica, a club stance can be tested by a large offer with a different type of payment structure.
As Fabrizio Romano revealed, Veiga has also switched to so-called ‘super-agent’ Pini Zahavi. This will certainly help Veiga should concrete options, away from his release clause, materialise. Veiga is contracted until 2026, but open to a summer move.
Arsenal’s interest is long standing. He’s been on their radar for quite some time. Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool and Bayern are four other teams to watch.
Barcelona, like other clubs, have scouted Veiga, but there’s nothing more than that at this stage. Joan Laporta has his work cut out to pull off any signings of this nature amid other key priorities and a desire to bring Lionel Messi back, too. LaLiga’s stringent financial rules don’t give Barca much leeway.
Could Ollie Watkins really make “dream move” to Arsenal?
Ollie Watkins is one of the form strikers in Europe right now, but Aston Villa have no intention to let him leave. Talks are ongoing over a new contract and there remains confidence within the club Watkins will extend. His current deal expires in 2025.
Watkins has 11 goals in his last 15 league games and 14 in the Premier League in total. One more goal, and it will be his best league return at Villa. Unai Emery views Watkins as essential. I also understand Watkins is very open to extending, and Villa will be in an even stronger position if they qualify for Europe.
Links with Arsenal and Bayern Munich are premature at this point. Watkins, like Harry Kane, is not believed to be tempted by a move to the Bundesliga. He wants to stay in the Premier League and fight his way more regularly into the England set up. Bayern haven’t made any approach either.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Villa add another striker to complement Watkins and he extends his stay at Villa Park. On the other hand, a move to Arsenal wouldn’t guarantee as much game time. Watkins, when at Brentford, did call Arsenal a “dream move”. But given what Emery is building at Villa, and the fact Watkins is an automatic starter, extending on improved terms remains the most likely outcome.