Kieran Maguire gives us his take on whether West Ham are a serious takeover threat to Man United amid Qatari and Ineos speculation.
Hammers News reported at the weekend that the Glazers taking Manchester United off the market could be potentially huge news for West Ham regarding a future takeover.
It was reported last season that Ineos founder and chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe was allegedly interested in a potential West Ham takeover before Man United were put on the market.
According to The Daily Mirror, Sir Jim Ratcliffe was targeting West Ham after a Man United takeover was initially ruled out and he missed out on Chelsea to Todd Boehly’s US consortium.
After ruling out a bid for Manchester United at first, Ratcliffe said: “We have a sports franchise. We own a third of Mercedes’ Formula 1 te
Rival Man United bidders both linked with West Ham as alternative amid Glazer uncertainty
But the Glazers then put Manchester United on the market and changed the landscape.
Since then however, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s rival bidder for Man United, Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani, has been widely reported to be eyeing West Ham should his attempts to buy the Red Devils fail. That claim was repeated by The Sun back in May.
And earlier this summer respected BBC journalist Simon Stone, who has strong sources at Old Trafford, name-checked West Ham when claiming Sheikh Jassim will likely look to buy another Premier League club should his Man United bid fail.
Man United have been the subject of a protracted takeover bidding process since being put up for sale by the Glazers. But claims emerged this week they might be taken off the market until 2025.
Kieran Maguire exclusive: Are West Ham a serious takeover threat to Man United amid Qatari and Ineos speculation?
West Ham are also ranked the 15th most lucrative football club in the world in the Deloitte 2023 Football Money League.
Manchester United’s share price suffered its worst day ever with an 18.22 per cent fall after the weekend reports.
So with Man United fans desperate for the Glazers to depart, should they be worried about the spectre of a takeover bidding war switching from Manchester to London?
Football finance expert Keiran Maguire is the author of the excellent Price of Football books and co-host of the podcasts by the same name. Amid all the noise, he has been a leading voice on breaking down the realities of the Man United takeover situation.
Now Hammers News has spoken exclusively to Maguire about whether West Ham are a serious takeover threat to Man United amid the
‘West Ham is an attractive prospect… but it’s a long shot’
And he admits that while the Hammers are indeed an attractive proposition, the fact Man United are a money-making machine mean a sudden switch to West Ham is highly unlikely.
“The Man United bidders switching to West Ham, it’s a long shot in my view,” Maguire told Hammers News.
“West Ham is an attractive prospect.
“But it’s significantly different numbers to Manchester United, in terms of income and earning potential.
“Man United are £600m per year, about three times that of West Ham United.”
While that is just Maguire’s opinion, it is a very well informed one.
Maguire’s comments come after a West Ham board source also poured cold water on reports the Qataris in the running for Man United could launch a bid for the Hammers.
And it leaves the Irons in a state of ‘as you were’ for the foreseeable future given Maguire told Hammers News last season that Czech billionaire and West Ham’s second biggest stakeholder Daniel Kretinsky has no desire for a full West Ham takeover.
