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regular-article-logo Saturday, 04 May 2024

Manchester United in limbo as uncertainty over sale of club affects Erik ten Hag's planning

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe have made declared bids for what could end up being the biggest-ever sale of a sports team

AP/PTI London Published 05.06.23, 05:12 AM
Erik ten Hag.

Erik ten Hag. File photo

Deep in the bowels of Wembley Stadium, Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer strode past a group of reporters seeking an update — in fact, just any news — about the potential sale of the storied English club.

“Why are you not speaking to the fans?” came one shout.

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Silence.

United's disgruntled supporters want answers.

So, surely, does Erik ten Hag.

Speaking after his team's 2-1 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup final, the United manager was relatively calm about his plans for this summer while the Glazer family weighs up whether to sell the club or remain in place by selling a minority stake or take up other funding options.

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe have made declared bids for what could end up being the biggest-ever sale of a sports team, with the price possibly reaching up to $6 billion.

So, Ten Hag was asked, does he have two plans for the offseason: one if a sale goes through and one if it doesn't?

“I have only one plan, that is to improve this club and improve this team,” Ten Hag said. “I will fight for this, I will talk to the club about what we have to do for that, but also I have to work with my staff, with my players, to be better next season.”

Pushed on how the sale affects his planning for next season, Ten Hag said: “At this moment, I don't want to discuss that. It's about finalising the season. We have to be quiet, analyse the season… set the right conclusions and take action as fast as possible.”

This season has shown the amount of work needed for United, indeed any team, to catch up to City.

There's no doubt, however, that United are on the right track under Ten Hag, who has led the team to two domestic cup finals — winning the League Cup in February — and back into the Champions League.

That didn't appear likely early in the season when United was losing 4-0 at Brentford and 6-3 at City.

“It's not about (closing) the gap in the summer, or getting players in,” the Dutchman said. “We've been working all season, day by day, to develop the team, progress the team and I'm very proud from where we came from the start of this season.

“Remember Brentford, but also the Etihad. Now we showed today (Saturday) that our home win (United beat City 2-1 in January) was not a coincidence and today again maybe on another day we could have won this game.”

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