La Liga president issues concerns about possible Qatari takeover at Manchester United
La Liga president Javier Tebas has confirmed that he will criticise Manchester United in the same way that he has previously criticised Paris Saint-Germain if Qatari banking Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is successful in his quest to takeover the club from the Glazer family.
Al Thani, who is a relatively unknown character, submitted a bid to purchase the sale of Manchester United almost a fortnight ago. A decision has yet to be made by the Glazers, although it is believed that they will demand as much as £6bn for a complete sale.
The prospect of United becoming a state-owned football club has created a split reaction among the fanbase. A Qatari takeover will also raise questions about multi-club ownership, which is something the powers within football wanted to prevent not long ago.
La Liga chief Tebas has been an outspoken critic of PSG’s model and he has admitted that he will repeat everything he has previously said if United are taken over by Al Thani this year.
“Everything I have always said about PSG I will have to repeat,” Tebas told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit, as per The Express. “What shouldn’t really happen is they come up with fake sponsorships or structures over the clubs so expenses can be dealt with creatively – not within the arena of football.
“We have seen inflated sponsorship, then you create a structure. This is a little bit dangerous and we have to pay attention. In the case of Manchester United, the purchaser knows that it has to pay for the takeover and the losses.”
This will not only cause a stir in the football world, but also within our very own fanbase. It brings up the uncomfortable conversation that is sportswashing, but the Premier League has played a blind eye to that in the past, so why would it be any different now?
