Qatar Sheikh Al Thani rivals for Manchester United: Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Qatar Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani made an official offer of around £4.5bn to buy Manchester United, while Sir Jim Ratcliffe, owner of INEOS Group, one of the richest people in England, weighed in.
Ratcliffe, 70, has decided to partner with Wall Street giants JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs to advise him on the proposal. As reported by Athletic, if the offer is accepted, Ratcliffe has promised to return Manchester United to the good old days.
The Glazer family, current owners of Manchester United, is expected to make the final decision in Ratcliffe and Al Thani’s battle to buy Manchester United at the end of March.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar.
Al Thani, the son of a former prime minister, has officially announced his intention to buy the club outright, saying it will restore the British giant to its “former glory”.
Al Thani, known as HBJ, also served as foreign minister and chaired the Qatar Investment Authority in the 2000s, when it bought shares in Canary Wharf, Chelsea Barracks, Berkeley and Connaught hotels.
RATCLIFFE ALSO ATTENDS CHELSEA
British billionaire Ratcliffe, on the other hand, stands out as a more dominant person in the world of football. In 2019, two years after the Swiss team bought FC Laussanne-Sport, he bought French outfit Nice for £91m.
Speaking to the Financial Times during the Chelsea sale, Ratcliffe said: “I will be a Manchester United fan for the rest of my life. I was there for that unforgettable game in Barcelona in 1999. This was a game that stuck in my mind. Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family. Met Joel and Avram, good people. They don’t want to sell the club. If it was up for sale in the summer, we probably would have done the same as Chelsea. But we can’t cross paths arms and hope that one day they sell Manchester United,” he said.