A MASSIVE American financial investor is reportedly in talks to invest in Manchester United in a huge curveball to the messy takeover process.
The Red Devils were put up for sale by their controversial Glazers owners before Christmas.
American investors Carlyle are allegedly in talks about a huge investment in the club Credit: RexThe auction for United is now nearing its final stages.
But a fresh update from Sky News claims that American group Carlyle “is among a handful of parties which have pitched proposals to acquire a minority stake” in the Old Trafford club.
Carlyle has assets of more than £298bn under their management.
And they are among the world’s largest private equity firms.
They have owned companies in the UK such as RAC breakdown recovery service and taxi hire firm Addison Lee.
This latest report says that a source informed them “that Carlyle’s interest in Manchester United was serious”.
And they also added that the group had been locked in talks with the Glazers for some time.
It also stated though that key details of Carlyle’s proposal, including exactly how much capital it would look to invest and the structure of the potential package, has not yet been finalised.
Meanwhile, Manchester United Supporters’ Trust has called on the Glazers to quickly conclude their sale of the club.
The club was put up for sale in November but the American owners have been happy to wait for their asking price to be met.
There are willing suitors but the Glazers further delayed the takeover process this week by opening up a third round of bids.
The Trust [MUST] have called on the family to avoid further delay, pointing out Erik ten Hag needs to know how much funds will be available in the summer.
They claim United are in “dire need of new investment” amid interest from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.
And fellow bidder Thomas Zilliacus has confirmed he is still keen to buy the club from the Glazers.
That is after Zilliacus lashed out on social media describing the ongoing takeover saga as a “farce” and accusing United’s unpopular owners of disrespecting the club.