Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani has reportedly retained his interest in buying Manchester United after his unsuccessful takeover attempt earlier this year.
It was Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS who won the race to buy United from the Glazer family, striking a minority takeover deal which allowed the Americans to remain at Old Trafford. The willingness to work alongside the Glazers is believed to have aided Ratcliffe’s bid, whereas Sheikh Jassim sought a 100% takeover which did not satisfy the owners.
Since then, the Ratcliffe era has endured plenty of challenges. Major staff cuts, ticket price rises and public comments downplaying the importance of United’s women’s side have left many fans thoroughly unimpressed, while results on the pitch have also fallen well short of expectations.
With some even calling for Ratcliffe to leave Old Trafford, the Daily Mail report that Sheikh Jassim’s interest in striking a deal has not disappeared.
Sheikh Jassim’s initial takeover plan, dubbed ‘Project Ruby’, planned to wipe the club’s debt and build a new stadium, and it is believed that those ideas remain entirely feasible, with the Qatari consortium still retaining complete faith in their plan despite the fact they did not win over the Glazers.
“If the opportunity to buy the whole of Manchester United arose again at some point in the future it is hard to see there not being a big level of interest,” an advisor to Sheikh Jassim is quoted as saying. “The plans are still there.”
Rather that do business with Sheikh Jassim, whose final offer for the club was worth close to $6bn, the Glazers agreed to sell a 27.7% stake to Ratcliffe for $1.6bn. The agreement is also believed to give Ratcliffe the first opportunity to buy any future shares if they become available.
