Sheikh Jassim's camp are still awaiting clarity from Manchester United regarding his takeover bid despite reports the Glazers had entered into talks around an exclusivity period.
Reports emerged on Thursday that the much-hated Glazers had taken a step forward in their attempts to sell United. Those rumours suggested that the Americans were discussing entering a period of exclusive talks with the Qatari banker, who is battling British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe for control of the Red Devils.
Ratcliffe's bid would see the Glazers stay on, at least temporarily, while Sheikh Jassim is seeking a full 100 per cent buy-out. The Glazers value the club at around £6billion, though neither Ratcliffe nor Sheikh Jassim is thought to have matched that valuation.
Last week, the Qatari's camp submitted what they described as a 'fifth and final' take-it-or-leave-it offer to the Raine Group, who are running the process on behalf of the Glazers. That appears to have shot him ahead of Ratcliffe in the race for control of United.
But just a few hours after it was reported the Glazers were considering entering into exclusivity with him, AFP have reported that Sheikh Jassim's camp are still 'awaiting clarity' regarding his bid. They revealed they had no updates and no timetable for next steps.
The news that Sheikh Jassim is still waiting for clarity comes on the same day he set up a company with the UK's Companies House. The Qatari banker is named as an individual person with significant control of that company.
United's share price has sky-rocketed with the news that Sheikh Jassim had taken a step closer to buying out the Glazers. Sheikh Jassim certainly has the backing of one Red Devils' legend.
To add to Thursday's drama, former United defender Rio Ferdinand made it clear that the Qatari banker had his backing. He insisted that a conclusion to the drawn out process was 'imminent'.
“The Man Utd takeover is imminent,” Ferdinand said in his Five channel on Youtube. “We are hearing the Qatari bid is the one that has been accepted, the one that is imminent and the one that is going to go through. Hallelujah, man. I cannot wait. Please let this happen.
“Look how long this has gone on for. The Glazers have dug their heels in. It will go to the biggest bidder which is normal in negotiations but I want this to be resolved before the transfer window kicks in and now it is opening and starting to move.
“I have woken up every day hoping that every day there will be a bid accepted. We are hearing that it is close. It will happen in a matter of days.
If not a matter of hours. If it does not, we do not know how much money we have to spend and United will be playing catch up. So fingers crossed this information is really true – I have it from a good source that it is true.”
