Finance expert Kieran Maguire has been reacting to a Manchester United takeover update involving Thomas Zilliacus.

What’s the latest on a Manchester United takeover?

Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are seemingly the real frontrunners when it comes to a possible full takeover from the Glazers, with the pair eventually submitting revised bids after an extension last week.

They don’t appear to be alone in the race, though, with Zilliacus also stating that he has made an offer. The Finnish entrepreneur wanted to buy half of the club with the other half bought by fans, who will be part of club decision-making.

However, Zilliacus then proposed that himself, Ratcliffe and Jassim join forces for a deal, although the businessman is not thought to be being entirely ‘accurate’ with what he is announcing.

Maguire, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to Football Insider regarding Zilliacus and a reported Old Trafford bid which would involve supporters. He feels as if it has been done to ‘get publicity’, describing it as ‘bizarre’.

“This is an easy win to try and get publicity. The credibility of the offer has to be brought into question. The nature of the bid doesn’t make sense.

“Fans should not be involved in operational decisions. The whole point of a professional football club is that professional people make big decisions. Man United has 165million shares in issue, so although the proposal sounds democratic, one share in the club does not make a lot of difference.

“What we would find if it did happen, is that people would follow the herd when it came to major decisions. So I’m not taking this proposal particularly seriously – United fans have had the opportunity to buy shares in the club for many years and they chose not to do so. So why Zilliacus believes they would suddenly choose to do so under this model is bizarre."

What happens now at Old Trafford?

Jassim, Ratcliffe and potentially Zilliacus, should his offer prove to be accurate, will now be waiting to hear back from the Glazers on their stance over a possible sale.

Reports have suggested that Avram Glazer is against a full sale, whereas Joel Glazer could be persuaded, with the other four siblings, rumoured to be in favour of selling at a big profit. A £6bn figure has been floated around as the potential asking price, and with the potential sale of the NFL team Washington Commanders being valued at $6bn, Sky Sports have suggested this could push up the price tag at Old Trafford.