Sheikh Jassim has apparently been successful with his bid to buy Manchester United, according to triumphant reports from Qatari media.
The Qatari banker, whose full name is Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, lodged what his party described as a fifth and final offer last week in an effort to get the deal over the line amid competition from Sir Jim Ratcliffe. That came after reports that the INEOS billionaire was in pole position to get the nod from the Glazer family.
Sheikh Jassim’s offer for the entirety of United has now won the day, according to Qatari outlet Al-Watan – an organisation that his father, the country’s former Prime Minister, Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, owns. The outlet tweeted on Monday night that an announcement of the deal would come ‘soon’. It would bring some sort of closure to a saga that has rumbled on for months.
The Glazer family, who have owned United since a leveraged buyout in 2005, announced in November that they were beginning a process to “explore strategic alternatives” for the club. After three rounds of bidding, relatively unknown Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe – a petrochemicals billionaire who already has deep involvement in sport – emerged as the frontrunners.
The process has dragged on, with the Avram and Joel Glazer and Raine Group remaining tight-lipped on when a preferred bidder might be announced. That changed over the weekend, with widespread reports suggesting that a decision was imminent.
Sheikh Jassim is bidding to buy 100 per cent of United in a deal which would bring an end to the Glazer family’s involvement in the club. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe is understood to be offering to buy around 60 per cent of the club’s shares and would be open to Avram and Joel Glazer remaining on board in some capacity.
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The uncertainty is impacting the club’s plans for the summer transfer window, which opens on Wednesday. Asked recently if he knew how much he has to spend this summer on new players, United manager Erik ten Hag said: “No, I don’t have an influence on that, I don’t have and also I don’t know.
“The only thing I know is that Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, one of the biggest two or three from a fanbase perspective.
“The club has to compete for the highest in the world – the Champions League and Premier League. But in football, you need funds to construct squads because, at the end of the day, the level of your players decides if you are successful or not.
“Everyone knows you need funds to construct a squad and high-level players cost a lot of money. That’s the situation nowadays in top football.
“I think it’s clear what I want, but it’s not up to me. It’s about others in this club. The family are the owners, they make the decisions, and it’s not up to me. I do everything I can and I influence the processes that I’m in charge of.”
