A plan to place Manchester United at the helm of Europe's most powerful multi-club network has been drawn up in the expectation that the English Premier League club will be brought under Qatari ownership by the beginning of next season.
Qatar Sports Investments already owns Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain and a de facto controlling stake in the Liga Portugal club, Sporting Braga. Last week, a group fronted by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani - chairman of the Qatari Islamic Bank and son of the gulf state's former Prime Minister - increased their offer to buy Manchester United plc in full, while QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced his interest in taking control of La Liga 2's Malaga.
Record Sport understands that senior QSI executives envisage deploying Braga as a development club for both PSG and United. Elite talents would be signed from European and South American football then moved to Portugal to gain experience in Braga's first team before being transferred up the multi-club system to the Premier League or Ligue 1.
Currently third in Portugal's top tier behind Benfica and FC Porto, Braga announced the sale of 21.67% of the club to QSI in October. Antero Henrique, the former Sporting Director of PSG and current Sporting Director of the Qatar Stars League, is understood to have been tasked with devising a strategy to take best advantage of Qatar's burgeoning investments in European football.
Malaga have been owned by a subsidiary member of Qatar's ruling family, Abdullah Al-Thani, since 2010, but are currently under judicial administration and in danger of relegation from La Liga 2. QSI is considering bringing the club into its broad portfolio of sports investments with the aim of returning Malaga to Spain's top tier. “We’re looking for opportunities, they’re a fantastic club and they’re in a difficult situation right now,” said Al-Khelaifi, who also chairs the European Club Association and holds a seat on UEFA's Executive Committee. “If there is an opportunity, why not?”
Should the Glazer family ultimately choose to accept the Qatari bid for United an informal network of clubs would be created that would be more powerful than any other in the game; significantly exceeding the prominence and financial muscle of Abu Dhabi's Manchester United-led City Football Group. With two months of this campaign remaining to play, United, PSG and Braga are all placed to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Al-Khelaifi has a strong relationship with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin; playing an important role in blocking a breakaway Super League in 2021. Asked about the proposed Qatari takeover of Manchester United earlier this month, Ceferin stated his readiness to consider a relaxation of the governing body's rules on multi-club networks.
“This multi-club ownership question is an interesting question, I think we should think about it for the future and see what to do,” Ceferin said. “There is more and more interest for this multi-club ownership and we shouldn’t just say no for the investments, but we have to see what kind of rules we set in that case because rules have to be strict. We have to rethink the current rules. I think it has to be quick because...everything has to happen quick in football.”
The Glazers have floated a valuation of over £5billion for United and remain in the process of exploring “all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the Company”. A number of revised offers for full or partial purchase of the family's shares were made last week. One of the bidders, the ex-patriot English industrialist Jim Ratcliffe, has told friends that he remains confident of winning the auction.
United have yet to shift from their public position that “there can be no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in any transaction involving the company”.
READ NEXT
