The general reaction from fans following the weekend’s news has been one of confusion. Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, who has strongly criticized the Glazer family’s ownership in recent years, said INEOS’s investment “leaves more questions than answers” and raised 16 separate questions about how INEOS’s participation will affect the club.
Considering the process was murky and unclear from the start, the unhappy ending is arguably appropriate. While many fans yearn for what Neville calls “a full exit of the Glazer family” and agree with the full sale promised by Sheikh Jassim, that is just one of the potential outcomes being discussed. mentioned when the club spoke last November announcing that the club was “exploring various strategic options”.
Meanwhile, growing uncertainty does not help the team or the club’s image. The club withdrew the contract agreed with David de Gea and were in real trouble over the Mason Greenwood situation, taking six months to conduct an internal investigation before concluding that the striker should be brought back. lineup, only to reverse that decision after receiving an outpouring of outrage from the audience.Sheikh Jassim is the only hope for a full sale, as his Nine Two Fund is the only offer that wants to buy the club comprehensively. The Qatari banker’s offer attracted great interest from fans as he promised to pay off the club’s debt and invest $1.7 billion in the club’s infrastructure. If his proposal had succeeded, the hated Glazer family that had dominated a decade of decline would have finally disappeared. However, the Qataris’ interest in Manchester United is also shrouded in mystery. Very little is known about the son of the gulf nation’s former prime minister and he has done nothing to change that.
The Americans hate public attention and communicate very little with fans. However, the British tycoon welcomes the attention and has a record of positive interactions with Nice fans. While that’s not always a good thing (Mike Ashley famously bought beer for Newcastle fans when he first bought the club, but later became local enemy number one), this will is a welcome change from the Glazer family’s aloof approach.
He will try very hard to make an impression and has proposed expanding Old Trafford’s capacity to 90,000 seats. Owning a minority stake in Ratcliffe may not be what fans would have wished for more than a year ago, but it is a small step on the road to Manchester United’s eventual recovery.
