EXCLUSIVE: A former Manchester United bidder put forward a proposal that could have earned the club up to $20billion and he has a new plan in the works
Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has a new proposal for Manchester United(Image: Getty)
Thomas Zilliacus has a new plan to approach potential investors in a bid to buy Manchester United. The Finnish entrepreneur put forward a proposal that could have earned the club $20billion in 2023.
Zilliacus rivalled the likes of Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe when the Glazer family put the club up for partial or full sale two years ago. Although his fan-led proposal fell short, he claims it could have been a lucrative one.
The former Nokia official stated that his team was drafting an app that would have given investing fans slight control of the club for a fee of $400. This “Swedish model” he claimed had been tested and if he could target just five per cent of his estimated one billion United fans around the globe, it could have generated up to $20b in theory.
Zilliacus has now exclusively revealed to MEN Sport that he would once again be open to investing in the club. His new stance is that he would also be happy to work with a number of other backers, including the Glazers as rumours continue that the club is up for sale.
He said: “I would have no problem working with the Glazers. They could even hold a minority position where they could continue to enjoy a nice cash flow.
“But at the same time, the club could be developed so that it becomes once again, the best club in the world. And the fans are happy and everybody’s happy. That’s the way I see it.”
Zilliacus failed with his United bid two years ago(Image: Getty)
Zilliacus believes that regardless of his new offer and his openness to work with the current majority owners, the Glazer family will soon sell up. He also think that they will charge more than the club is worth.
Asked if the Glazers will soon depart Old Trafford, Zilliacus replied: “I would think so. I mean, they have already made so much money out of the club.
“They have not gelled well with the fans. I don’t think people want to forever be involved with assets where they get a lot of negative feedback as owners, as the Glazers continue to do.
“So I would think that if the price is right, yes, they want to sell. That’s how I would see it. I think that the time for that to happen will be pretty soon.
The entrepreneur thinks the Glazers will soon sell their shares in the club(Image: Getty)
“But looking at the experience two years ago, I think they will demand a hell of a lot and they will ask for more than what the club really is worth. But then again, there are two ways to look at the club.
“One is what is it worth today and the other is what it can become. What can it be worth with the right decisions made? The program that I have to engage the club to perhaps a billion fans around the world, that is where I see the real value.
“That value is very high, which means that you could actually justify a higher price than what the valuation is today, because of the potential that fan base holds.”
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