Glazers could be swayed on Sheikh Jassim’s Man Utd takeover after FA Cup final

Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer could be swayed towards retaining a stake in the Red Devils after getting off lightly at the FA Cup final. That would spell bad news for takeover hopeful Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose proposal would require the Glazers to walk away from the Red Devils completely.

Many were surprised to see Avram Glazer rock up to Wembley as United’s takeover saga rumbles on. Sheikh Jassim is still waiting for a final response regarding whether his £5billion bid was successful, while he is up against petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose offer would allow the Glazers to retain a minority stake at Old Trafford.

That element of the deal is believed to appeal to United’s current owners, so much so that Sir Jim is reportedly considered to be the favoured candidate, but continued hostility among Red Devils supporters may cause the Glazers to think twice before remaining in Manchester.

However, Avram Glazer’s appearance at the FA Cup final came with a striking lack of chanting from United supporters. The American was targeted during United’s Carabao Cup win over Newcastle back in February but seemed to get away lightly at the weekend.

He was positioned in the stands next to legendary former Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as popular ex-chief executive David Gill. And that choice of seating may have served Glazer well as United fans broadly remained focused on the game.

The way things panned out may encourage Avram and his equally unpopular brother, Joel, to remain at Old Trafford in a minority capacity, which would only be possible by accepting Sir Jim’s offer and moving away from Sheikh Jassim’s hope of a 100-per-cent takeover.

“We are broken, disappointed of course, but I said I am proud of my team,” he told the BBC. “We did very well, we conceded two soft goals but we were in the game. There was a great spirit and very good organisation.

“This team showed resilience, character and personality. We know we have a way to go but this will make us better. It was a test for us, we didn’t succeed but we can take a lot of positives into next season.”