Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani has confirmed a bid for Manchester United, releasing a press release to say he intends to buy everything of the Old Trafford membership and restore the Red Devils to “former glories both on and off the pitch”.
Friday night was the deadline for bids to be confirmed for the Premier League aspect, after the Glazer household introduced in November that they had been contemplating the sale of the membership as one choice for the long run.
Al Thani is the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank and, in a press launch made on the Sheikh’s behalf, is famous as a lifelong Man United supporter.
He additional claims that there can be no debt positioned upon the membership within the buy and that the intention can be to put money into each males’s and ladies’s groups “with a particular focus on youth development”, together with “significantly” upgrading the membership’s stadium.
The assertion in full reads:
“Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani today 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.
“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.”
At current there is no such thing as a affirmation of the quantity of the bid, with service provider bankers Raine anticipated to have been looking for in extra of £5bn for the current homeowners.
Aside from a bid from Qatar, the one different confirmed supply forthcoming is that of Ineos proprietor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has already issued a press release saying that they had “formally put ourselves in the process”.
There had been a suggestion {that a} third bid may come up from Saudi Arabia, however that doesn’t look like the case.
Manchester United LGBTQ+ supporters’ group the Rainbow Devils earlier raised “deep concern” over the potential events excited about shopping for the membership, significantly after points arising through the latest World Cup the place rainbow-coloured objects had been faraway from supporters after Fifa had assured match-goers it could not happen.
“Rainbow Devils believe any bidder seeking to buy Manchester United must commit to making football a sport for everyone, including LGBTQ+ supporters, players and staff,” the group stated in a Twitter put up.
“We therefore have deep concern over some of the bids that are being made. We are watching the current process closely with this in mind.”