agency reportedbloombergQatar is ready to pay an initial offer of $6 billion to buy Manchester United, amid news that Saudi Arabia is entering the race to take over the ownership of the ancient club.
The agency, quoting unidentified people familiar with the matter, stated that an alliance led by the former Qatari Prime Minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, is preparing to put the final touches to the offer to acquire the “Red Devils” owned by the American Glazer family.
The well-known Qatari journalist, Majid Al-Khulaifi, tweeted: “Manchester United is Qatari,” without giving further details.
In a related context, Saudi Arabia made a similar offer to buy the English club before the deadline, Friday, according to the newspaper, Thursday.telegraph“.
The British newspaper report added that several private groups in Riyadh submitted official inquiries to enter the competition race, which Bloomberg described as a “fierce war” against the English football giant.
And the rules of the European Football Association do not allow clubs that can meet in the same competition, such as the Champions League, to have the same owner, which means that the Qatar Investment Authority, which owns the French club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns the English club Newcastle, may be excluded from Entering the race to take over Manchester United.
Reuters reported that British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is likely to bid alongside US private equity firms. It is likely that Ratcliffe will submit his offer, on Friday, after obtaining the approval of global banking giants “JP Morgan” and “Goldman Sachs” to finance the deal, according to the “Telegraph” newspaper.
According to Reuters, the possible sale of “Manchester United” may be the largest sports deal so far.
Manchester United, a 13-time Premier League winner, is one of the biggest names in global sport and has been the subject of growing speculation since Bloomberg reported in the summer that the Gladers were open to selling a stake in the club.
According to media reports, the American family is seeking 5 billion pounds ($6 billion) to disengage from the three-time European champion, which would break the record for the price of a football club set by Chelsea last year.
And the sale of London’s Chelsea last summer to an alliance led by the American, Todd Boyle, for 4.25 billion pounds ($ 5.2 billion), including future investments in infrastructure and players.
