Sheikh Jassim Bid for Man Utd: £5B

Qatari billionaire Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani has submitted his world-record £5billion bid to buy Manchester United just minutes before the 10pm Friday deadline for interested parties to submit their third proposals for investment of the club. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have also submitted their third bid, though unlike the Qatari’s who want full ownership of the Red Devils, his is only for a majority stake in the club. Details of Ratcliffe’s bid are yet to be confirmed, with his representatives also yet to speak out on reports from earlier this week that the Glazer family may remain at Old Trafford in some capacity. Sheikh Jassim, the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank and the son of a former Qatari prime minister, has been the favourite since opening proposals were made due to his financial superiority over the other bidders. However, his bid is still short of the £6bn the Glazers have been holding out for for the Premier League club. In addition to the bid, the Qatari’s proposal also includes another huge pot of money which will be spent on improving the playing squad, the infrastructure of the club, including Old Trafford Stadium and investing in the local community. It is reported that both Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe’s bids will be their last, with the former effectively telling the Glazers that it is now ‘take it or leave it’. The Glazers have owned United since 2005 and under their reign the team’s fortunes on the pitch have declined dramatically, while lack of investment in the stadium has led to it becoming a shadow of its former self. Fans are desperate to see the back of them, and they will now deliberate over whether to accept any of the bids or not sell the club at all. It should also be noted that Friday’s deadline did not apply to bidders who only want a minority stake in the club such as the Carlyle Group and Elliott Management.