24 March 2023 , 16:40
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Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has rejected suggestions that his offer to buy Manchester United is a publicity stunt and sensationally revealed that he has told Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe he wants to join forces to split ownership of the club into three portions.
On Thursday former Nokia chief Ziliacus, 69, announced that he had submitted an offer which would place supporters front and centre.
Rival bids immediately played down the seriousness of his offer, which was submitted to the bank overseeing the potential sale on behalf of the Glazer family on Wednesday before the initial deadline.
“I don’t know where they’ve gotten that from,” Zilliacus told Mirror Football of the publicity stunt claims. “If you’re rivals in a bidding process, you’re of course trying to discredit others as much as you can.
“But I’d hope they wouldn’t do that because this is a serious, genuine attempt by someone who loves football and the club to get ownership.”
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The former chairman of HJK Helsinki, Finland’s most successful club, also believes that the current situation is playing into the hands of the Glazers, warning that a bidding war will see them disappear into the sunset with billions of pounds more than what the club is worth and mean there is nothing leftover to invest in the club’s infrastructure.
Instead Zilliacus believes that the Qatari group and Ratcliffe’s INEOS firm should join forces with him and invest the additional billions saved into improving the playing squad, Old Trafford and the training ground.
He added: “What’s really bothered me is we're now in a process where it's become a bidding war and the offer is going up and up and up. Who benefits from that? The Glazer family.
The Glazers announced their intentions to sell in November (Getty Images)“The club is doing better now on the field than in recent times but there are a lot of other issues with the club, the stadium, facilities that need attention and money. It's crazy for this to end up as a bidding war where the Glazer family walks away with billions more than the club is really worth and no money left to develop the club.
“I've reached out to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim to say this is not about investing into a football club to make a lot of money because that just doesn't happen. It's the other way around, you put money in to make the club successful. So we're doing this for the love of football and Manchester United.
Thomas Zilliacus was formerly a top Nokia executive and was on the board of Finland's most successful club HJK. (Getty Images)“Instead of giving all this extra money to the Glazers, let's join forces for the benefit of the club and put in an offer that reflects the true of the club with a premium of control. You have to pay a premium for control. By doing that we’ll save two thirds of what we’d pay by doing it alone and that money can be used for the benefit of the club.
“I've zero ego issues with this bid, it's about owning the club to make the club better and I hope the other bidders have had the same thinking and same approach. It makes perfect sense to join forces.
“There are more than enough VIP boxes and plush seats at Old Trafford to accommodate three owners. If we all have aligned interests and see it the same way, then there is a very bright future for the club."