March 23, (THEWILL) – Thomas Zilliacus, a Finnish businessman, has thrown his hat into the ring to buy Manchester United, proposing a bid that would give fans a controlling stake in the club.
This comes after Qatari, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and INEOS chief, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, also confirmed their desires to purchase the Red Devils, with both being given extra time to formalise their offers. But, Zilliacus is looking to compete with Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe by submitting a unique bid which would be partially financed by fans.
The 59-year-old believes that every sport club should ultimately belong to its fans, and that the current trend of billionaires taking over clubs and controlling them as their personal playgrounds is unhealthy. His bid will therefore see his group finance half of the total amount needed to take over Manchester United, while fans would be asked to participate for the other half.
Each fan who joins would have access to an app that they can use to participate and cast their vote on footballing matters relating to the club. Zilliacus hopes that if his bid is successful, Manchester United will operate on a foundation of respect, equality, dignity, diversity, racial harmony, and democracy, with its global fan base included and involved in all decisions.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
