"Secret Talks" over Man United takeover - Glazers Deny

"Secret talks" were apparently held between a Qatari consortium whom we can safely presume are incredibly rich and the vastly unpopular Glazer family and current owners of Manchester United over a possible takeover. "Great!" Manchester United fans would think, but alas, the Glazers have once again denied that any talks were held, and reiterated that the club is not for sale whilst reportedly waiting for around £2 billion for Manchester United, not the £1.5 billion that has seemingly been tabled.

The following is from The Guardian:

"A Qatari consortium is reported to have offered £1.5bn to buy Manchester United from its current owners, the Glazer brothers, after holding secret talks.

But the club yesterday denied that there has been any approach and reiterated that Manchester United is not for sale.

It is understood, however, that an approach from Qatar Holding – an investment group controlled by the Qatari royal family – took place shortly after the Arab state had secured the right to stage the 2022 World Cup finals.

Discussions are said to have foundered because of the asking price. The Glazers value the club at close to £2bn, which is more than the Qatar group, which recently agreed a record £125m shirt deal with Barcelona, was initially prepared to pay.

The Glazers paid £800m for the club in 2005, the majority of which was provided by loans secured against the club's assets. The borrowings are now believed to stand at around £530m.

Football sources believe Qatar, keen to raise its profile still further in the game, will return with a higher offer."

The Glazer family's reluctance to sell Manchester United, a club in masses of debt has been incredibly frustrating for Red Devils fans, most of whom would welcome a takeover from a ridiculously rich group. This, a group who could inject masses of money into the club for transfers as well as clearing all of the debt. There will be more waiting for a takeover it therefore seems, as the Glazers keep their fingers tightly around one of the most successful football clubs in the world and wait for a bid of at least £2 billion. Will anyone or any group rummage through their pockets for an amount so vast? Lets hope so.

Qatar Holdings in £1.5 Billion Manchester United Takeover

The news is that Manchester United are close to being taken over by Qatar Holdings in a massive deal worth £1.5 billion.

Qatar Holdings’ chairman, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, who is currently Qatar’s prime minister, is said to be keen on the idea of taking over one of the biggest clubs in he world in Manchester United after Qatar's controversial 2022 World Cup bid win.

This is obviously good news for Manchester United fans who have done their utmost to get rid of the current American owners, the Glazer family. The Green and Gold campaign and the constant protests against the Americans due to the amount of debt that they have put the club in have had little effect. But now that a super rich company are waving £1.5 billion in front of the faces of the much hated owners, this spell of hostility may be about end.

However, there is one thing that the Glazer's have given Manchester United which Sir Alex Ferguson will be thanking them for. That is the freedom to run the team as he wants. Throughout the Americans ownership, they have stayed out of the way of Ferguson - letting him manage the team with freedom that other managers of clubs could only dream of. Ferguson's position at the club was always going to be safe, but at clubs like Chelsea, when managers are being sacked every other season, the stability that they have allowed at the club on the pitch has probably been the only good thing that can be squeezed out of their ownership period.

The impression Ferguson gives is that if he wants to buy a player, he can. He will be provided with the money which David Gill claims the club have to spend on players. The difference if the new owners arrive is that money will be guaranteed and the club will no longer be burdened with debt. Some pretty good plus points there, it has to be said.

If the prospective new owners are to come in, to be popular with fans, they must listen to them, and work with them to improve the club situation. The money will obviously be there for Ferguson and any other future managers to spend, so recruiting new players won't be a problem, but they must keep an interest in the football as well, and not be swayed into making knee-jerk decisions as was made by the new Blackburn owners. Manchester United must stay as the proud, successful club that it has been in football, and guaranteed stability is key to that.

Singapore Billionaire Bid For Liverpool

A Singapore billionaire is set to out-bid NESV who have had a bid accepted by Liverpool and the Premier League to buy the club.

The business man in question, Peter Lim has said that all of they money spent on Liverpool; buying the club, paying their debt, and giving Roy Hodgson money to invest in the team, will come from his own money, and so will not force the club into any more debt - which has played a big part in the fall from grace thanks to the current American owners.

He is offering to give Roy Hodgson tens of millions of pounds to spend on the team in the upcoming January transfer window. Not only that, but even if Liverpool do go into administration, Lim is still prepared to buy the club - unlike NESV.

Robert Peston of the BBC reports that Lim was told just just hours before NESV's bid was accepted, that he had not won control of Liverpool. He was apparently shocked because he was sure that his bid would be accepted, and will now make an improved bid in an effort to win the club.

Mr Lim has an estimated net worth of $1.6bn (£1bn), according to Forbes Magazineand he made his fortune in fashion, logistics and agri-business.
His interest in English football stems from his ownership of several Manchester United themed bars in Asia - which have persuaded him that there is huge global potential for making money from top-flight English football.

He seems like the perfect owner for Liverpool - a big change from their dreadul owners Tom Hick and George Gillet.

A Mash-up of the days News in Football

Roy Hodgson has told of his delight that Liverpool have been taken over by new owners after a horrific period which saw the Gillet-Hicks stint cause chaos on and off the pitch. Hodgson admitted:

 "It's very positive and of course I'm delighted".

 He has also been assured that his job is safe after receiving the backing from the Liverpool board. Maybe now Liverpool can move forward and will no longer have to worry about a very heavy weight that has been pulling them down towards debt and disaster for the past couple of years.

Wayne Rooney knows what it feels like to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and when your friends call you "vulgar" and a "chav" it's hardly going to make you feel any better. This is the news, which I reported on earlier, in which the young Italian striker Macheda had reportedley called Rooney a "coatto". Now, this word translates into many things in English, and it just so happens, that newspapers chose the more controversial meanings to publish. Macheda is apparently furious about the misquotation and was talking in jest about his fellow striker... or could this be another lie just to add to the drama? Cue dramatic music.

Next, and we are with a couple of golden oldies who have revealed their much less controversial retirement plans. Well, one of them has. Kind of. Florent Malouda, the thirty year old Chelsea winger has revealed that he would love to end his career playing for a team in the "true country of football", Brazil.

"It would be great to play for a club like Flamengo or Vasco da Gama, it is something that I want to do in my life"

The other retiring player that I am talking about is Edwin van Der Sar. The Dutch goalkeeper is forty this month - a very respectable age for a footballer playing at the highest level at Manchester United. The shot-stopper hasn't actually confirmed his retirement plans, but his goalkeeping coach has done the second best thing by more or less confirming it himself. Eric Steele said:

"I think Ed has made his mind up and said this is his last year."

It seems that if Van Der Sar does retire, it will not be Gianluigi Buffon who will replace him. The Italian goal-keepers agent probably made the interviewer cry after rubbishing his question as to whether United had shown an interest. The agent said:

"I don't know where these rumours come from, it is a nonsense. Buffon is out for an injury for three months, who wants an injured player? And it seems to me that the best player of Manchester United is the goalkeeper van der Sar."

You had better read DBSFootball tommorow for more!

Liverpool Receive Two Bids for Takeovers

Potential Liverpool
Owner: John Henry

Liverpool have received "two excellent financial offers" to purchase the club. One of which is from more Americans in the owner of Boston Red Sox, a proffessional baseball team, while the other bid is reportedly from a Far East Consortium.

Liverpool fans simply want to get out of the miserable times that they find themselves in. They want stability

 to the club, on and off the pitch. They want the new owners to be prepared to spend money to invest in new players and build a stronger team. They want the new owners to be prepared to show commitment and be in the club for the long haul, and not just come in, then realise it was going to be tough and leave. But most of all, Liverpool fans don't want to hear any more empty promises and lies.

Vitally important too, is the need to get out of the debt that the club is in, which is rumoured to be around £237 million. So, these "excellent" offers that Liverpool have apparently received need to be from either a person or group whom are massively passionate about Liverpool football club and amazingly rich, or amazingly rich and amazingly crazy. They will have to rummage through their pockets for probably over £850 - 900 million, with the current owners, Hicks and Gillet holding out for £600 million. The debt will then have to be payed, and then new players will be demanded.

Tom Hicks and George Gillet, the current American owners are extremely unpopular among the Liverpool fans, and the fans blame the owners for Liverpool's current bad form and fall from grace. Only five years ago Liverpool were celebrating a Champions League win against AC Milan. Now, even though the season is in it's early months, Liverpool are in the relegation zone. It isn't too silly to suggest that Liverpool could be going from Champions League to Championship in a matter of years. If these bids are not succesful and these American owners stay in control, the future could be disastrous for Liverpool.