A new bidder has stepped forward in the battle for the ownership for Manchester United.
Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has submitted a bid for United, confirmed via a press release via Pressat.
But there is a catch. He wants Manchester United supporters to club together to put up half the funds.
Zilliacus also plans to offer supporters a say in how the club will be run, via a voting app.
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Thomas Zilliacus statement
Thomas Zilliacus statement read: “Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans. The current development, where billionaire sheiks and oligarks take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend
“The current market value of the club is just under 3.9 billion USD. That means that if every one of the fans of the club would join in buying the club, the total sum per fan would amount to less than 6 dollars.
“My bid is built on equality with the fans. My group will finance half of the sum needed to take over the club, and will ask the fans, through a new company that is being set up for this specific purpose, to participate for the other half.
“If every fan joins it means less than 3 dollars per fan. Each fan who joins will have access to an app which the fan, from anywhere in the world, can use to participate and cast his vote when deciding on footballing matters relating to the club. No decisions will be taken that are not supported by a majority of the fan base.”
Who is Thomas Zilliacus
Thomas Zilliacus, 59, is described as ‘the founder and chairman of Mobile FutureWorks Group, a multinational conglomerate active in digital media, e-commerce, online payments, mobile games and real estate.”
He previously worked as head of corporate communications for Finnish tech firm Nokia.
For four years between 1982 and 1986 he was the chairman of Finnish football club HJK, and also ran a club in Singapore in the 90s.
Zilliacus believes passionately in equality, making this clear in his statement. He added: “Manchester United should not only be the best football club in the world, it should also be the leading club in the world in working to stop abuse, racism and hate speech in social media and on sports grounds.
“Should we be successful in our bid we will ensure that Manchester United, the best football club in the world, will operate on a foundation of respect, equality, dignity, diversity, racial harmony and democracy.”
How this bid fits in
The concept of fan ownership is one Manchester United supporters could get behind, and there are certainly enough fans to make it work.
However, I feel at this stage of the process, Zilliacus is fighting an uphill battle. United supporters are more invested in the success of the two leading bidders Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim.
With this in mind, there is only a limited percentage of the divided fanbase who would be willing to put up the cash to support this project. Without the backing of a major fan group, I see this project struggling to get off the ground.
Zilliacus’ offer also appears thin on detail. There is no mention of a plan to clear the club’s debt, to invest in the squad, or to finance the much needed infrastructure projects to improve the Carrington training ground and Old Trafford stadium.
Even if supporters could scrabble enough money together to buy the club – what is there left to spend? Zilliacus makes no mention of whether he intends to put up further money.
The Glazers are expected to sell to the highest bidder. With only half the money committed, I just don’t see how this can compete with the Qatari or Ineos offers, as well-intentioned as it may proclaim to be.
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