SUMMARY
- What was supposed to be a major financial backing for the club, didn't happen as Sheikh Jassim's withdrawal led to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's acquisition of 27.69% of the club.
- A recent report from the US SEC filings has come to notice which shows that Manchester United might have been saved from another blunder.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani’s withdrawal from the race to buy Manchester United might have upset the United fans. What was supposed to be a major financial backing for the club, didn’t happen as Sheikh Jassim’s withdrawal led to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of 27.69% of the club.
However, a recent report from the US SEC filings has come to notice which shows that Manchester United might have been saved from another blunder. According to the American authorities, it is believed that the Qatari group failed to respond to the questions about the sources of his funds.
Sheikh Jassim who has a net worth of 1.3 billion dollars, failed to submit “customary financing commitment letters” to the club. However, his revised bids kept on coming which were eventually rejected. And on October 15, the Qatari group finally withdrew from the bidding process.
Why did I smell Galzers pr ???
Am I the only one?
— The football boy (@thefutballboy_1) January 17, 2024
Though it is hard to understand what led to the withdrawal of the Qatari group, as soon as this information made the internet, fans across various platforms filled the post with reactions. One fan blamed the Glazers for this and stated, “Maybe the Glazers made up fake bidders to get INEOS to up their bid lol.” Another said, “Why is this so funny?” A third commented, “I smell Glazers PR here.” A fourth quirked, “All these are made-up lies to make the Glazers look good.”
After a lengthy bidding war, on December 24, 2023, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group was finally announced to have brought a 25% stake in the club in a deal that included an investment of $300 million into the infrastructure of the club.
Peek inside Sheikh Jassim’s vision for Manchester United
Following a nine-month negotiation and in a bidding race with the INEOS Group chairman, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim finally decided to withdraw from the race on October 15. However, before that, the Qatari billionaire kept on providing improved bids to Glazers which were eventually turned down.
Jassim’s highest offer came at a value of $6 billion. But to see the Glazers still feeling hesitant to sell the club at that amount, Jassim informed the Glazers that he wouldn’t be providing anything more than that which led to his withdrawal from the bidding process.
https://x.com/SimplyUtd/status/1639305667939909642?s=20
Jassim had a detailed roadmap ahead of him ready for the club. He also promised to invest more than $1.7 billion into Manchester United after acquiring the club. It was also reported that he wouldn’t have used any debts to acquire the club and would have covered all the existing debts that the club had which amounted to more than $600 million.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s attempts to buy Manchester United
According to a recent report, Sir Jim Ratcliffe had four bids that were rejected by Manchester United during nine months in 2023. His deal was finally put forward on October 13, 2023, following the withdrawal from Sheikh Jassim.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe had four bids turned down before bid which was accepted was submitted in October.
First in February was for only Class B shares and controlling interest which did not match desire for a ‘full sale or minority primary investment’.#MUFC #bbcfootball
— ᗷIᒪᒪ ᖇIᑕᕮ 🎙📻 (@billrice23) January 17, 2024
On December 24, he was officially declared as the new stakeholder of the club after acquiring a 25% stake in the club and is currently looking forward to his proposed deal getting ratified by the Premier League next month.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s has a four-year transfer plan for Manchester United which will include marquee signings in the upfront to play alongside Rasmus Hojlund.