A consortium led by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), announced on Friday that it had made a bid for the acquisition of the English club Manchester United.
“Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani confirms that he has submitted an offer for (the purchase of) 100% of Manchester United Football Club”, explains the statement, which does not give details of the proposed value to the ‘Red Devils’.
According to the press, the club put up for sale at the end of November by its American owners, the Galzer family, could become the biggest sale of a sports club in the world, for around 6 billion euros, more than R$ 33 billion.
“The offer aims to bring the club back to past glories on and off the field and, above all, to bring fans back to the heart of Manchester United Football Club,” the statement said.
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— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 18, 2023
If the offer goes through, the club will be exempt from its debts, which currently amount to 580 million euros, about R$ 2.6 billion, and its promoters are committed to “investing in football teams, in the training center, in the stadium and in the infrastructures in a broad sense”, he adds.
QIB is one of the largest banks in Qatar. Its majority shareholder is the sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority, owner of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), which controls the Paris Saint Germain.
The son of a former Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, 42, has been portrayed as a Manchester United fan since childhood.
But, in principle, there could be other offers for the club, which the Glazer family hopes to sell before the end of April. British millionaire Jim Ratcliffe and his petrochemical group Ineos, already owners of France’s Nice and Switzerland’s Lausanne, were the only ones to publicly admit their interest.
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