Manchester United will apparently not be sold to a consortium from Qatar. As several English media reported unanimously on Saturday, Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani is said to have withdrawn his multi-billion dollar offer
In mid-June, Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani had already received congratulations, the euphoria among parts of the fans was huge: the takeover of Manchester United seemed imminent, with which the era of the unloved Glazer family at the English record champion would have come to an end. But the news turned out to be a hoax, an agreement was far from being found.
And exactly four months later, a takeover by the Qatari consortium is apparently finally off the table. Several English media reported unanimously on Saturday that the financial backers around Sheikh Al Thani had withdrawn their billion-euro offer. The Qatar consortium considers the valuation of the current owners “highly unrealistic” in view of the offer of six billion euros already made.
The sales process had already stalled considerably in recent months. The ongoing bidding duel against Sir Jim Ratcliffe had clearly lost momentum. Now Ratcliffe with his “Ineos” group remains as the only publicly declared interested party.
The news of Al Thani’s exit should not please United fans at all. After all, the Qataris had announced their intention to wipe out the English club’s debts of 970 million pounds in full – but in return to gain complete control of ManUnited. United’s value is currently estimated at around 3.2 billion US dollars, so Al Thani & Co. offered almost double that.
In addition, the Qatar consortium is said to have pledged a further 1.7 billion US dollars for transfers, new stadium plans, a new training centre and starter renewal projects. The Glazers’ assessment, however, has now led Al Thani to a definitive rejection.
That leaves hope for Ratcliffe, one of the richest Britons. His original offer was said to be for a 51 per cent stake in the club, but it has recently been reported that this has been revised downwards to 25 per cent.
