(Football news) Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a lifelong Manchester United supporter made a bid to buy the club before the 10 pm deadline on Friday through his company INEOS Group. The potential takeover is being overseen by the Raine Group who were also responsible for Chelsea’s takeover last year. The 70 year old billionaire was born in Greater Manchester and also bid to buy Chelsea last summer but the deal eventually went in the favor of Todd Boehly’s consortium. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has many sporting investments under his portfolio such as cycling team INEOS Grenadiers, Ligue 1 side Nice, FC Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss Super League club, and owns a third of the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
Another substantial bid was made before Friday’s 10 pm deadline by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank. He released a statement after submitting the bid that promised a debt free takeover through the newly-formed Nine Two Foundation and insisted all profit under his ownership would be reinvested into the community. It’s believed that the Glazers will not budge from their asking price and Sheikh Jassim will not overpay but is expected to pay a world record fee to buy Manchester United. The previous world record is the £3.75bn paid for the Denver Broncos NFL team.
The final figure that will be paid either by Shaikh Jassim or Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be determined after the two have been given access and taken a detailed look at the company accounts. The Qatari royal has been a Manchester United fan since 1992 when he was 10 years old and has said that he will invest in the men’s and women’s team along with the redevelopment of the stadium, the training ground and the area around Old Trafford. He is the son of former Prime Minister of Qatar and was educated at Sandhurst in the UK and was formerly on the board of Credit Suisse.
The statement released by Shaikh Jassim read “Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani today [Friday February 17] 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.”
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