Qatar and Ineos neck and neck for the takeover of Manchester United

Offers are jostling for the takeover of Manchester United. The legendary English club, which has produced solid performances since the start of the season under the leadership of the Dutchman Erik ten Hag, further consolidated its third place in the standings by crushing Leicester (3-0) on February 19. But in the stands, anger has continued to rumble for years. ” Get up if you hate the Glazers “Singed the Mancunian supporters in the bays of Old Trafford during the victory of the Red Devils, pointing the finger at the current owners of the club.

First owned by Malcolm Glazer from 2005 through investment firm Red Football Ltd., the club then passed through the hands of his six sons. Joel and Avram Glazer, in charge of managing the club since April 2006 due to their father’s health problems, became co-presidents after his death in May 2014. A decade marked by the club’s decline in the English championship, who has not won the Premier League since 2013 and the departure of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

In November 2022, the Glazers finally announced that they wanted to think about new options for the club in terms of investments. ” The board of directors will consider all strategic alternatives, including the arrival of a new investor, a sale, or other transactions “Said the official press release.

Qatar positions itself for takeover

Since this announcement, things have accelerated and the first official offers for the takeover of Manchester United have been revealed in the last few days.

The chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, was the first to indicate on February 17 that he had submitted an offer. Estimated at 4.5 billion euros, the offer ” aims to restore the club to its past glory both on and off the pitch, and above all, put fans at the heart of Manchester United said Sheikh Jassim in a statement.

The potential future owner of the English club is one of the fifteen children of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, former Prime Minister of Qatar from 2007 to 2013. He is behind the creation of the sovereign wealth fund which bought Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, but also London landmarks like the Harrods department store and the Shard skyscraper. He was close to the former emir and father of the current emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who played a vital role in Qatar’s rise in the sports world.

The Ineos group as the main competitor

On February 18, the English group Ineos, already owner of the Nice and Lausanne clubs, also made an offer to buy the club through its owner, the billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. ” We are ambitious and very competitive and we would like to invest in Manchester United to make it the number one club in the world again. We want to make this club a model of modern, progressive and fan-centric management “, explained Ineos.

Other offers would have been formulated, but without confirmation for the moment. Among them, a Saudi track is mentioned in particular by The Telegraph. According The Timesthe American hedge fund Elliott, former owner of AC Milan between 2018 and 2022, would also be in the race to buy.

American investment bank Raine, responsible for the sale of Manchester United by the Glazer family, asked for a price between 6 and 7 billion pounds (6.7 and 7.9 billion euros) in its presentation to investors . A valuation deemed excessive, like that which it had obtained for the sale of the London club Chelsea, sold to the American Todd Boehly in May 2022 for 5 billion euros.

” We will evaluate all options “said Avram and Joel Glazer, the co-chairmen of Manchester United. ” There can be no assurance that this will result in a transaction involving the company “, they however specified.