Amazon have become the latest company to be credited with an interest in purchasing Manchester United – even though the club’s £7billion valuation has been labelled unrealistic.
The Glazer family, who bought United back in 2005, announced in a statement last month that they were open to finding new investment or selling the club outright. Since then, a host of high-profile names, including Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have been linked with a mega-money takeover.
The Raine Group, an investment banking firm who have been appointed as United’s exclusive financial advisors, have set a price of around £6bn to £7bn for the club – a sum that is believed to be far less than the £9bn that the Glazers were hoping to rake in by selling up.
Even though it has now emerged that the revised asking price may still be too high for some suitors, another big-name player has seemingly joined the race to purchase one of European football’s most famous clubs.
According to a fresh report from The Athletic, Amazon have emerged as a potential buyer for Manchester United. The American technology giant currently holds Premier League broadcasting rights worth £30m-a-year, but could now be set to buy into the club outright. They “declined to comment on rumour and speculation” linking them with United, however.
The report also outlines that several financial experts in London believe that even the club’s revised price tag of £6bn-£7bn is far too high. For context, United’s Premier League rivals, Chelsea, were sold to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake capital for £2.5bn back in the summer.
Football Benchmark, a data and analytics platform, ranks Manchester United as the second most valuable football team on the planet, only behind Real Madrid – but even their valuation of the club stands at £2.425bn.
“The gap between the rumoured transaction price and the theoretical value of Manchester United FC appears enormous,” explained Andrea Sartori, the Football Benchmark chief executive.
The Glazer’s statement confirming that the club was effectively on the market back in November was welcomed by United fans, who have protested against the American’s vociferously in recent years.
While it had been hoped that a deal could be sooner along than first thought following the Glazer’s unexpected statement last month, the report goes on to add that nobody has engaged in ‘serious talks’ with Raine over a buyout.
Raine are still hopeful that a takeover can be concluded within the first quarter of 2023, however, the report also notes that they are not expected to establish an official cut-off point for interest.
Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz will not oversee any more World Cup matches after feeling the wrath of Argentina star Lionel Messi.
The Spaniard was put in charge for the South American’s quarter-final showdown with the Netherlands last week. Despite Argentina running out victorious on penalties, there were huge complaints sent the way of the official.
In what was a bad-tempered clash, Lahoz issued an eye-watering 17 yellow cards with Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries also receiving his marching orders despite the game having already finished. Meanwhile, two-goal hero Wout Weghorst was also issued with a booking even before he took to the pitch.
Messi, the scorer of Argentina’s second goal in the game, aired his complaints about the official’s performance. He told TyC Sports “This match shouldn’t have ended as it did.
“I don’t want to talk about the referee because they sanction you. But people saw what happened. We were afraid before the match because we knew how he was and I think FIFA has to review this. You can’t put a referee like him for these matches.”
Meanwhile, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez ruthlessly criticised Lahoz for his performance. He said: “The ref gave everything to them [Netherlands]. It all turned upside down.
“He gave 10 minutes extra time for no reason. He just wanted them to score. That referee is crazy. Arrogant. You say something to him and he talks back to you. It’s crazy.
“Because Spain were eliminated, he wanted to eliminate us. He is the worst referee at the World Cup. Hopefully we won’t have him again – he’s useless.”
Now, it has emerged that Lahoz’s display has spelt the end of his World Cup campaign .The 45-year-old will not oversee any more matches at the tournament and is expected to return home to Spain.
“He gave 10 minutes extra time for no reason. He just wanted them to score. That referee is crazy. Arrogant. You say something to him and he talks back to you. It’s crazy.
“Because Spain were eliminated, he wanted to eliminate us. He is the worst referee at the World Cup. Hopefully we won’t have him again – he’s useless.”
Now, it has emerged that Lahoz’s display has spelt the end of his World Cup campaign .The 45-year-old will not oversee any more matches at the tournament and is expected to return home to Spain.
Lahoz is not the only official to have been questioned for his performances at the World Cup over the last month. Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio was the target of severe criticism for his showing during England’s quarter-final defeat to France.
Numerous members of the Three Lions’ squad slammed him during their post-match interviews, whilst former Manchester United defender Gary Neville branded him as an “absolute joke”.
Speaking to ITV, he said: “The referee had a nightmare game, an absolute joke of a referee. I’m not saying that was all down to England’s defeat because that’s making excuses. He was just a bad referee, rank bad.”
Ben White seems to be excited to be back with Arsenal after he joined up with Mikel Arteta’s men on their mid-season tour of Dubai ahead of the domestic restart.
The 25-year-old left England’s World Cup camp due to ‘personal reasons’ on November 30 as he returned back to the United Kingdom to be with his family. White did not feature in the Three Lions’ opening two group matches and missed their win over Wales through illness.
However, it has since been claimed that White’s premature exit stems from his fall-out with a key member of the coaching staff as well as struggling to fully integrate into the squad off the pitch, leaving him unhappy out in Qatar as a result.
After just over a week away from the England camp, White joined up with the rest of his Arsenal teammates in Dubai as they prepare to return to competitive action against West Ham on Boxing Day.
The Gunners face AC Milan and Juventus while out in the Middle East, but it is unknown whether the centre-back will feature in either game.
White, who was pictured in training on Monday, posted a message on his Instagram having joined up with his colleagues in Dubai. This is the first time White has put anything on social media since his departure from Qatar.
In a post that featured three photos of White, including one of him in the gym with some weights, he said: “We back baby.”
He also posted an image of him training with the rest of his teammates, and then another with just a straight photo of the Arsenal training jersey.
Gareth Southgate was asked about the alleged ‘bust-up’ between White and Three Lions coach Steve Holland prior to their World Cup quarter-final clash with France. He told reporters: “What I’ve been shown was alleged and there was another word that was used [in the article].
“I think by commenting on the story I could be giving it any form of credibility, really. We explained why Ben left the camp and I think it’s important that that is respected, really.”
White has been impressive for Arsenal so far this season, featuring in all 14 of their Premier League matches to date.
The Gunners currently top the table, having picked up 37 points from a possible 42 possible, and sit five points above champions Manchester City in the process.
But Arsenal face a couple of tricky tests after the restart, facing West Ham before taking on White’s old club Brighton and then Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium. It feels as though the first couple of weeks after the restart are important for the Gunners and could determine whether they are title challengers this season.