Manchester United Bids Reported
Three unidentified billionaires, two from Europe and one from the Middle East, were reported Sunday to be considering making a bid to buy Manchester United for as much as $960 million.
The Observer newspaper in England said in a front-page story that the three would-be buyers, acting independently, were consulting with financial experts in London on how best to launch a takeover of the English Premier League champion.
Reacting to the report, Manchester United spokesman Paddy Haverson Sunday called it “pure speculation” and declined to comment further.
“In recent months a number of different individuals or consortiums have explored the possibility of buying the Premiership champions, who made 32 million pounds [$51.2 million] profit last year,” the Observer said.
“Several have decided not to act, but these three remain ‘seriously interested.’
“The trio’s inquiries into the viability of taking over have been confirmed to the Observer by senior United figures, some of whom would welcome such a move.”
Manchester United is owned by a group of shareholders, chief among them Irish horse racing tycoons John Magnier and J.P. McManus, whose 11.4% stake in the club make them jointly the largest shareholders.
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German Anger
Ottmar Hitzfeld, the coach of German champion Bayern Munich, has lashed out at the international schedule after a number of his players returned injured or exhausted from 2004 European Championship or 2006 World Cup qualifying matches last week.
Among the Bayern players affected were Michael Ballack, Sebastian Deisler, Jens Jeremies, Claudio Pizarro and Roque Santa Cruz.
“The national team games have to be held by Tuesday at the latest, not on Wednesday,” Hitzfeld said. “It’s a horror for a club that some players come back Friday night, can’t train anymore and then are supposed to play Saturday.
“We have to fight to get the international schedule changed.”
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China Woes
Former Dutch international Arie Haan, who took over as coach of China when Bora Milutinovic stepped down after the 2002 World Cup, is learning just how difficult a task he has undertaken.
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China, fielding an experimental roster, last week completed a four-game tour of North and Central America, where it was held to a 0-0 tie by the Galaxy and lost, 4-3, to Haiti; 2-0 to Costa Rica and 2-1 to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.
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Quick Passes
Liverpool midfielder Jamie Carragher will be sidelined for six months after his right leg was broken by a two-footed tackle by Blackburn Rovers defender Lucas Neill during Liverpool’s 3-1 victory. Neill was ejected because of the incident. In the same match, Liverpool also lost Czech international Milan Baros for the rest of the year because of a broken ankle.... Barcelona and Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber has been sidelined by a strained ligament in his right knee. Recber missed most of the Spanish preseason because of a left ankle injury.
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Times wire services contributed to this report.
