Singapore permanent resident Thomas Zilliacus has raised eyebrows by entering the race to buy English Premier League giants Manchester United alongside Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim and Briton Jim Ratcliffe. Who is this 69-year-old Finnish entrepreneur who may go from managing Geylang International to running the show at Old Trafford?
1. He moved to Singapore in 1986 and became a Singapore PR in 2003
Then Nokia’s global head of corporate communications, Zilliacus arrived in Singapore to become the regional head of Asia-Pacific and chief executive officer of its South-east Asian arm.Not only was he captivated by the potential for growth in this region, he found love as he met his Japanese wife in Singapore in 1993, got married and had two daughters.
While he is a Singapore PR and has a property in Sentosa, Zilliacus now toggles between Austria and Finland after catching long Covid on his return to Europe in 2020. He has been advised to avoid long-distance travel to reduce the risk of heart attack and other complications.
2. He has made a unique bid for Manchester United
Zilliacus has submitted two bids to take over the English giants. What distinguishes his bid from those made by Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim and United Kingdom’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe is that he intends to allow fans to be co-owners of the club.
He said: “Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans. The current development, where billionaire sheiks and oligarchs take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend.”
However, he has also reached out to his two competitors to work on a joint bid.
Zilliacus told The Straits Times: “We will all save a lot of money and that money that we save when we are three, we can use for the benefit of the club.”
3. He is a Red Devils fan
Zilliacus told ST he was hooked after watching the likes of Bobby Charlton and Denis Law beat his boyhood team HJK Helsinki 3-2 in the Finnish champions’ first European Cup match at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 1965.
However, he copped some flak after Liverpool Echo ran a story with the headline “Man United mysterious bidder Thomas Zilliacus admits he could turn his attentions to Liverpool takeover”.
He clarified that it is not true and what he said when asked if he could move for Liverpool should his United bid fails was: “My brother-in-law would be very happy because his team is Liverpool.”
4. He is an entrepreneur and previously worked in Nokia
Zilliacus left Nokia in 1993 and set up Asia-Pacific Strategic Alliances Group and Mobile FutureWorks later in the 1990s.
The MFW website states that it “builds companies in internet, mobile and digital media with a primary focus on Asia, Africa and Europe”.
He also founded e-commerce company YuuZoo Corp and it was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2014. However, he left the company in 2018 following probes by the Commercial Affairs Department for possible breaches of the Securities and Futures Act. Investigations are still ongoing.
5. He used to be a football player, club chairman and manager
Zilliacus was an aspiring footballer who was in HJK’s youth team, before he spent a year training in Brazil with Fluminense’s academy. Upon his return to Finland, he played in the second division before focusing on studies and politics as he became a Helsinki City Council member.
Before he came to Singapore, he was chairman of 32-time Finnish champions HJK. During his tenure from 1982 to 1986, they won one league title and one domestic cup, and beat mighty Liverpool in the first leg of their European Cup second-round tie in 1982.
After settling down in Singapore, he was asked by the Football Association of Singapore to get involved in new FAS Premier League in 1989 and managed Geylang International alongside Patrick Ang.
He brought in Finnish stars like Sixten Bostrom and helped the Eagles win the league from 1989 to 1993, after which they finished third in 1994 and second in 1995.
