Manchester United bidder Thomas Zilliacus is a fan of Erik ten Hag
Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus has expressed an interest to buy Manchester United.
While some are calling it a PR stunt, Zilliacus claims his bid to takeover Manchester United is serious.
Following an interview with Dutch outlet NOS, the publication stressed how difficult it would be to speak to any owner of a big European club, as it took them a mere 10 minutes to arrange a call via WhatsApp.
Zilliacus is happy to talk and I think he deserves a bit of credit for that. It doesn’t need to be public, but by speaking to fan groups and some media organisations it allows him to express his vision for football club ownership.
They got straight to talking business, too, by asking him how much he’s willing to pay to takeover Manchester United from the Glazer family.
“At the moment the market value of Manchester is US$3.9bn,” said Zilliacus. “Of course, after a long experience in the business world, I understand that you will have to pay a lot for such a club. How much exactly? That will become clear in the negotiations. Twenty percent on top? Maybe forty. Or more…”
The Finn also said he’s a big fan of Erik ten Hag and the work he has done at Old Trafford to date. He complimented the Dutchman on how he dealt with the Cristiano Ronaldo situation.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s a brilliant manager. What he did with Ajax was amazing and what he’s done now with Manchester United is equally amazing. Because early in the season, things didn’t look very good. And he had the courage, which I really admire, to tell even big established stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo ‘look, this is me running this and this is how I need to do’. And that led Ronaldo to leave the club which now seems to have been a good move, because the club is doing significantly better without him.
“I think he’s done an amazing job. So I really hope that he stays with the club and if I would be the owner I’d definitely want to see him continue.”
For the fans, Zilliacus wanted to make it clear that they would be at the centre of his bid, if he is successful in his attempts to buy United.
“Without fans there is no club. When the deal is done and I own the club, I will invite them to buy shares in the club. As far as I am concerned, Manchester United does not belong to one person, not an ego trip, but to everyone with a heart for the club.”
Let us know in the comments section what you think of Zilliacus’ plans.
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