Move over Thomas Zilliacus, you now have company in the dropped out of the race to buy Manchester United club. Sheikh Jassim bin al Thani, the Qatari investment banker who led a big money bid to procure MUFC from the Glazer family, is is out. The news was broken by who else but world football transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
In his tweet below, he cites that a Sheikh Jassim spokesperson told him that the Qatari bid has been withdrawn.
? EXCLUSIVE: Sheikh Jassim has presented fully cash bid, clearing all old debt, with zero new debt, for 100% of the Club.
Sheikh Jassim’s team decline to comment on this news citing “confidentiality restrictions”, but have confirmed they’ve withdrawn from the process. pic.twitter.com/UBUVDyDVAt
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 14, 2023
So club icon David Beckham (who was reportedly set to be given an Ambassador role at the club, had the Sheikh Jassim bid gone through) was right- stuff is/was about to happen with the MUFC takeover saga. It’s just not the type of stuff that most United supporters were looking for.
The final Jassim bid, according to Romano, was understood to be almost double the market’s valuation of $3.5 billion. Which means you’re talking close to $7bn then.
That’s about 5.77 GBP, which is pretty close to the 6B pounds sterling that the Glazers were said to be holding out for.
So you had a spread between bid and ask to bridge here, but also the issue of percentage stake. Jassim was looking for 100% full ownership of the club. Meanwhile Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the reported front-runner even before this news dropped, is looking to buy the club in a manner that we see the Glazers still retain a share.
So that is probably why the Glazers rejected the Sheikh Jassim bid, and are more inclined to go with Ratcliffe. As you can see in another tweet from Romano, embedded below, Jassim only walked away from the bargaining table after the Glazers shot down his proposal.
? EXCLUSIVE: Sheikh Jassim has had further discussions with Glazers family to buy 100% of Manchester United.
Sheikh Jassim’s bid proposition has been rejected again by Glazers family.
As a result — Sheikh Jassim informed Glazers that he’s ready to withdraw from the process. pic.twitter.com/gmufiWC4Uc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 14, 2023
This is going to be a tough pill to swallow for much of the United supporter base. The Glazers are widely despised by a substantial and very vocal portion of the United fan base, and this is indeed a very dark day for this group. Especially when you consider that Jassim’s group had an extra $1.5 billion of extra investment into the club planned.
Unlike the Glazers, who take money OUT of the club, the Qataris were going to put money IN!
As Romano reports, Jassim and company had a vision for MUFC that included new plans for Old Trafford, new training facilities, investing the regenerating the city and community, and more. Not to mention the new approach the club would have had to the transfer windows.
Basically, they were going to be to United what Abu Dhabi is to Manchester City, maybe even better. But alas, that is all by the wayside now, unfortunately.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.