The chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, has submitted a fifth bid to buy Manchester United, the English press reported on Wednesday.
This improved offer, the details of which are not specified, is accompanied by a message for the Glazer family, the owners of the Red Devils: the Qatari warns them that after Friday he will no longer negotiate, even if his new offer will remain valid beyond this date.
While the Qatari banker and his main rival in the club’s sale procedure, Jim Ratcliffe, owner of the British petrochemical group Ineos, responded to three “official” bidding rounds, the last of which ended in late April, the adjustments have since continued behind the scenes to convince the Florida family to sell.
But the latter failed to obtain an offer at the level it seemed to hope for, that is to say 7 billion euros. The two candidates seem to have similar offers in terms of club valuation but different in their terms.
Ratcliffe would thus be willing to leave a minority place for the Glazers within the club, at least for a few years, despite their great unpopularity with supporters, when Sheikh Jassim wishes to take total control of the club.
According to information from the British press, the latter also wants to erase the debts of Manchester United which, if we also count the sums still due for certain transfers, would be around one billion euros, and invest in infrastructure and the workforce. .
The Glazers emphasized upfront that the process may very well not result in a sale. But with a week to go before the Premier League summer transfer market opens, Manchester United would like to be set to prepare for next season, following their encouraging third place finish this season.
