Man Utd takeover talk intensifies at World Economic Forum in Davos

Karan Tejwani

• Updated: 17 Jan 2023 08:00 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United have set up a lounge in Davos, Switzerland this week but insist it is to meet clients and partners rather than attract potential buyers of the club.

The club announced in November that they were either looking for further investment or a potential sale altogether, 17 years after the Glazer family took over.

There haven’t been any concrete bids from parties yet but there is believed to be plenty of interest in the club, with many hopeful of a deal in the first quarter of this year.

READ: Man Utd takeover: Glazers to sell soon

Bids from various states around the world including Asia, the United States and the Middle East are expected to arrive in the next few weeks.

Man Utd set up Davos lounge

This year, the annual summit of the World Economic Forum, is being held in Davos and a spokesperson for Manchester United said the lounge was “definitely not” aimed at attracting buyers.

The Manchester United lounge was one of the more attractive sceneries in the area and club legend Peter Schmeichel, along with chief executive Richard Arnold, will visit on Tuesday.

READ: Man Utd sale chances boosted after sponsorship agreement

Avram Glazer is also expected to arrive in Davos later in the week, as the lounge, filled with pictures of club legends, velvet couches, coffee and books hopes to have several visitors.

“Manchester United is proud to be the first sports team to partner with the World Economic Forum,” the club said in a statement.

“Our global community of 1.1 billion fans and followers provide us with powerful opportunities to engage across cultural and geographical boundaries. We are in Davos to explore ways to maximise the impact of the extraordinary reach.”

Fans have always been in protest of the Glazer family’s ownership since they took charge in 2005 having seen the club fall behind their rivals and fail on and off the pitch, in terms of infrastructure and facilities.