With Paris St. Germain, a football club already belongs to a Qatari owner. A consortium now also wants to buy Manchester United. However, there are other interested parties - including from Saudi Arabia. The acquisition could be the most expensive deal in sports history.
A consortium from Qatar led by Sheik Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted an official bid in the takeover bid for the traditional English football club Manchester United. This was announced by the consortium. At first nothing was known about the amount of the offer, you will be informed about it "in due course".
Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is the older brother of Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who had already acquired French champions Paris St. Germain in 2011 through the state fund Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). The Emir was also said to have an interest in Man United but a full takeover would not be allowed under current UEFA regulations given his investment in PSG. The Qataris would probably circumvent these regulations by hiring Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank.
Before the Qataris, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's company Ineos had submitted an offer. In addition, the British "Daily Telegraph" reported on Saudi Arabia's interest in taking over the top club. United has a history of working with Saudi Telecom, the Asian country's largest telecommunications company. At league rivals Newcastle, the consortium that owns 80 percent is Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
The American family, who completed their takeover of the 20-time England champions in 2005, announced in November that they were open to a sale. The Glazers are said to be asking for 5.6 billion euros, a sale for this amount would be the most expensive deal in sports history. United have not won the Premier League since 2013 and have not clinched a title since 2017. Erik ten Hag's team is currently third in the table.
