Man Utd takeover update: Sheikh Jassim has changed his opinion as fresh details come to light
Sheikh Jassim no longer sees himself in a battle with Sir Jim Ratcliffe to buy Manchester United, it has been claimed. The Qatari billionaire is in pole position to acquire the club. With the Glazers yet to provide clarity on the situation, however, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Sheikh Jassim feels Ratcliffe isn’t a frontrunner in the race.
Instead, the Qatari billionaire now feels as though it’s only the Glazers who represent an obstacle as he looks to seal a takeover this summer.
“Still, we have the same situation where Nine Two Foundation and INEOS are in the process,” Jacobs told GiveMeSport.
“Maybe the only difference at this point is that there’s a real feeling on the Qatar side, that it will now be a case of them being successful, or a no sale, possibly with some kind of financing baked in.
“So, instead of Qatar looking this as them versus Ratcliffe, which has been the narrative for much of the takeover, I think Nine Two Foundation feel like it’s about whether they’re picked or whether the Glazers opt for a no sale with some form of financing, then put the club on the market at a later date.”
Ratcliffe had been seen as being in pole position just a few weeks ago.
But things have changed ever since Sheikh Jassim launched a fifth and final bid for the club.
Not much is known about the mysterious figure, who prefers to keep a low profile instead of taking the spotlight.
Yet confidence is growing in the Qatari camp that, sooner or later, they’ll be the next owners of United.
They’ve promised to provide significant investment should a takeover go through, with Sheikh Jassim believing the Glazers have underinvested in the club.
Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training complex would both be revamped under Qatari leadership.
And Sheikh Jassim is willing to give Erik ten Hag transfer backing, too
United are on the cusp of signing Mason Mount from Chelsea, having agreed a fee for the England international earlier in the week.
Yet Ten Hag knows more reinforcements are required if the club are to win their first Premier League title since 2013.
Meanwhile, football finance analyst Viva Mukherjee has expressed a belief Sheikh Jassim will take United off the stock market in the event of any successful bid.
“I think the investment plan of Sheikh Jassim is very similar to that of the Friedkin Group at Roma but on a larger scale,” he said.
“The group bought a 86.6 per cent majority equity of AS Roma for £510million in 2020, of which £331million of that was debt amassed by the former owner.
“In a similar sense, the Qatar bid includes paying off the gross debt of £725million at Old Trafford.
“The Friedkin Group needed 95 per cent equity to delist the Italian club from the stock exchange – a stake that Jassim would own at Old Trafford if he successfully won the takeover.
“I believe Jassim will want to do similar and delist United from the stock exchange should he become the new owner.
“His bid for the club is around $6.3billion (£4.95billion), with a large majority of that fee set to be paid to the Glazers and the club’s shareholders.”
“It is the opposite to the Ratcliffe bid, where the debt of the club will likely remain and the club could continue to be traded on the stock exchange.”
The Glazers have owned United since 2005, with the club winning five Premier League titles since then – but none since 2013.
