Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer held talks with potential investors during his trip to the World Cup in Qatar, according to The Athletic.
Glazer reportedly met with possible investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Two days after the World Cup officially began, Man United released a statement that they were exploring strategic alternatives for the club.
The Glazers, owners of Man United for 17 years, instructed banks to sell their stake in the club.
They hired the Raine Group to be the club’s financial advisor during the process. Raine Group helped Roman Abramovich sell Chelsea when the United Kingdom government imposed sanctions on the Russian oligarch.
The Glazers said they were looking for new investment into the club, a sale or other transactions.
Raine Group are aiming to complete the sale of the club in the first quarter of 2023. They set a price between £6-7 billion.
Avram Glazer used his time in Qatar to meet potential investors in the Premier League club. But the nature of the talks he held is unclear.
The Glazers have other businesses within the region, and the talks could have been about those. Many people doubt that an Arabian Gulf nation will pay the massive sums the Glazers are demanding.
However, Glazer has said that the process is moving forward.
Following France’s 2-0 semi-final win over Morocco, he said: “It is not necessarily a sale. It is a process, and we are going forward with the process, so we will see what happens. That is the update. It is the process, and the process is proceeding.”
There were talks with Saudi Arabia and Dubai-based investment funds regarding the possibility of United’s sale.
Saudi Arabia sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said he wants a compatriot to invest in Man United.
He also mentioned Premier League rivals Liverpool, who are also up for sale.
