Money matters: why a sheik reaches out to Manchester United

The deal is likely to be the most expensive of its kind: the owners want more than five billion euros for the traditional English club Manchester United.

Money matters: why a sheik reaches out to Manchester United

The deal is likely to be the most expensive of its kind: the owners want more than five billion euros for the traditional English club Manchester United. A sheikh from Qatar is probably willing to pay this sum.

The biggest deal in sports history to date will soon be completed. Sheik Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani from Qatar wants to buy the football club Manchester United and has submitted an official offer. It is not known how much money the consortium led by the sheik is offering. It is said that information will be provided in due course. But the purchase price would probably pulverize the previous record for such deals.

Robert Walton, one of the heirs to US retail giant Walmart, owns it. He paid the equivalent of 4.3 billion euros for the Denver Broncos football team last year. Manchester United is currently controlled by the American Glazer family. The Florida clan is active in the real estate business in the USA and has interests in several companies, including the retailer Radio Shack, through an investment holding company. The family also owns the NFL club Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Glazers are reportedly demanding the equivalent of 5.6 billion euros for Manchester United. Jassim should be both willing and able to raise that sum. According to the financial news agency "Bloomberg", the sheikh can draw on almost unlimited financial resources.

Jassim comes from the richest family in Qatar. The Al Thanis have been the country's most powerful tribe for around 250 years, ruling Qatar as absolute monarchs since independence from Britain in 1971. Jassim is the son of a former Prime Minister of Qatar and the brother of the current ruler, the Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Jassim, 44, is the chairman of several companies, including QIB, one of the country's largest banks.

In the planned takeover of Manchester United he has at least one competitor who should not be underestimated: Jim Ratcliffe, one of the richest men in Great Britain. The British billionaire owns the petrochemical company Ineos, which he has also been using to build a sports empire for several years. He finances a cycling and a sailing team, he owns the football clubs OGC Nice from France and FC Lausanne from Switzerland. Last year Ratcliffe tried in vain to take over Chelsea. Now he has the Red Devils in his sights.

The Glazers bought the club in 2005 for around 890 million euros and listed it on the stock exchange, but still control it. The current valuation: 4 billion euros. However, United have not won the Premier League since 2013 and have not won a title since 2017. The team is currently in third place. The Glazers are unpopular with fans. Ratcliffe, on the other hand, has been a United fan since childhood and has said he wants to "take the club back to being number one in the world".

The looming bidding war for the traditional club is the culmination of a development that began several years ago. Football clubs from popular leagues - most notably the English Premier League - have become attractive to investors. In the past, patrons pumped money into clubs out of a passion for football or indulged in an expensive hobby out of vanity. Soccer has now become a global business. The most successful clubs are brands with global appeal. Only a fraction of the fans can be found on the domestic market or even in the stadium. The followers are distributed across all time zones and ensure high ratings. They can be monetized very well. It's about polishing brands and making money with them - at the latest when they are resold.

It's also about expanding networks and gaining influence. The World Cup in Qatar showed where this journey has gone so far - a tournament in the European winter in a tiny country that has no football tradition but has a lot of money thanks to large gas deposits.

Qatar, with its around 2.7 million inhabitants, of whom only around 300,000 are citizens, also uses football to gain influence in foreign policy. On the one hand, the rulers rely on security guarantees from the USA by providing bases. On the other hand, they build up so-called soft power. Or as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation put it in "Focus": "Anyone who is seen and has friends all over the world cannot just be swallowed up by their big neighbor [Saudi Arabia] and disappear from the map." In the Qatar crisis from 2017 to 2021, Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia tried to isolate the small desert state. They accused Qatar of funding terrorism. In addition to its importance in the gas market, the approaching World Cup contributed to Qatar's opponents not being able to achieve their goal.

The ruling family led by the Emir has owned the French club Paris St. Germain through the sovereign wealth fund since 2011. The Emir was also said to be interested in the traditional English club Manchester United with its dilapidated theater of dreams, Old Trafford Stadium. However, a full takeover would not be allowed under UEFA regulations due to his investment in PSG. The Qataris would circumvent the ban by getting his brother Jassim on board.

Before the sheikhs from Qatar entered Paris, the club languished in the first French division. He now dominates French football as a series champion and plays in the Champions League every year. At the time of purchase, the club was valued at around 100 million euros. After that, the state fund bought players for more than a billion euros - and the superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar play for the club. The business magazine "Forbes" values ​​the club at 3 billion euros. It was well worth the money spent, even though PSG haven't managed to win the Champions League so far.

Germany and the Bundesliga only play a small role in these global dimensions - which is also due to the fact that the 50 1 rule makes it very difficult for investors to take power in clubs. So while in Germany a businessman like Lars Windhorst recently caused a lot of conversation at Hertha BSC with a lack of sporting success, the investors from the Persian Gulf are playing in a completely different league.

Your approach: You buy a club - preferably in an internationally successful and therefore popular league. It helps if he has a lot of fans and owns a legendary stadium - Old Trafford, for example. George Best, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo have all worn Manchester United jerseys there in home games. Then a lot of money is pumped into the club in order to increase its value through big names and sporting success. Man United are 20-time English champions and therefore a special case. The English Daily Mail described the club as the "crown jewels" of football.

Meanwhile, the Saudis are already involved in English football. The sovereign wealth fund bought Newcastle United from the north of England in 2021 for the equivalent of 350 million euros. At that time he was in danger of relegation. Now the club has qualification for the Champions League within reach.

The strategy also worked for Manchester City. The club is majority owned by the Abu Dhabi ruling family. At the time of the takeover, City found themselves in the middle of nowhere in the English Premier League. The championship was celebrated a few years later, and five more championship titles have followed so far. However, the club is currently threatened with trouble; the English Premier League is investigating numerous violations.

If the Sheikh of Qatar prevails and takes over Manchester United, he will find plenty of competition. The final of the English League Cup takes place on Sunday. United meets Newcastle, so Glazer family against Saudi sovereign wealth fund.