After a great deal of speculation over the past year, it appears that the sale of Manchester United is imminent. The Guardian reports that a fifth and final offer from Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation has now surpassed Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos bid.
Manchester United Set for Sale
Who Is Sheikh Jassim?
While there is a general lack of public knowledge on Jassim, it’s well-known that he’s a member of the Qatari royal family, and chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank. His father is former Qatari Prime Minister Hasim bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.
The Nine Two foundation, named in homage to United’s infamous class of 92, was established by Jassim for the sole purpose of acquiring the Red Devils. Recently, the Qatari consortium was officially registered as a UK company.
Who Is Jim Ratcliffe?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is undoubtedly a popular name in the UK, and even more so in the world of business. The British billionaire and lifelong Manchester United supporter is best known for founding Ineos, the multinational chemicals company.
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Amongst his many business ventures, he’s no stranger to owning football clubs. In 2017 Ratcliffe acquired FC Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss club recently promoted back to the top flight. In 2019 he acquired Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.
Ratcliffe used Ineos to buy both clubs, and the hoped to do the same for his boyhood club.
Why Are the Glazers Selling?
After maintaining majority ownership of the team for over 18 years, the Glazer family are actively looking to sell the side.
Dissatisfied fans have mobilized both in person and on social media to protest their ownership. The issues span from a fall-off in success to poor management of finances. Because of a decision to borrow money against the club rather than investing it, they’ve put Manchester United into a debt of about £535.7 million.
Now, they have a prime opportunity to cash out. With a potential sum of over £6 billion, the sale would be the biggest in football history if it went through.
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