Ineos Group of Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani launched rival bids to buy the legendary English football club Manchester United on Friday.
As per Sky Sports, Ratcliffe, who is Britain’s richest man, had indicated his intention to bid last month and it was confirmed that an offer was made by his company Ineos just before the 10 pm deadline on February 17, set up by Raine Group, which is organising a potential sale of the club on behalf of its owners Glazer family.
The 70-year-old billionaire from Greater Manchester was among the ones who bid for Chelsea FC when its ownership was available last year. He has made a lot of big sports investments, owns cycling team INEOS Grenadiers, Ligue 1 side Nice, FC Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss Super League club, and owns a third of the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
Earlier, Sheikh Jassim, who is the chair of Qatar Bank QIB, had made a ‘substantial bid’ which would carry no debt and insisted all profit under his ownership would be reinvested into community via a newly formed Nine Two Foundation.
As per an insider, Glazers are not willing to go anywhere if they “do not get top, top dollar”. But Sheikh is willing to pay a record price to buy the iconic club. The current record is the £3.75bn paid for the Denver Broncos National Football League (NFL) team.
Jassim became a United fan back in 1992 as a 10-year-old and he said that he will invest in men’s and women’s team, stadium redevelopment, training ground and area around Old Trafford.
Jassim is son of the former Prime Minister of Qatar. He was educated at Sandhurst in the UK and he is also the chairperson of Qatar Islamic Bank. He was formerly on the board of Credit Suisse.
A statement said: “Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani today [Friday, February 17] confirmed his submission of a bid for 100 per cent of Manchester United Football Club.”
“The bid plans to return the club to its former glories both on and off the pitch, and – above all – will seek to place the fans at the heart of Manchester United Football Club once more,” it said.
“The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports.The vision of the bid is for Manchester United Football Club to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world.
“More details of the bid will be released, when appropriate, if and when the bid process develops,” concluded the statement.
United is currently in the third position in the Premier League with 46 points and 14 wins in 23 matches, four draws and five losses. They will take on Leicester City on Sunday. (ANI)
