According to reports, a Qatari banker named Sheikh Jassim has finally been given permission by the Glazer family to buy Manchester United for £6 billion. He has now started the process of thoroughly examining the details of the purchase.
The discussions about the takeover have continued for nine months. The Glazers initially mentioned in November last year that they were considering other options.
Since the end of last season, the selection process has been reduced to a direct competition between a person supported by Qatar named Sheikh Jassim and the person who founded Ineos, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The Glazer siblings, Joel and Avram, have been considering two offers for a while. They prefer Ratcliffe’s offer because it would let them keep their shares.
But Sheikh Jassim continued to increase his offer even though several deadlines passed. Now, The Sun is saying that the Glazers have finally agreed and will sell the entire club.
The report says that important people at Old Trafford told the Glazers that fans would be very angry if they kept any shares.
But Avram and Joel seem to have changed their minds and the family’s controversial 18-year rule at Old Trafford is likely to end soon.
Sheikh Jassim is going to buy the entire club and he will also get rid of the total debt of £725 million that was accumulated under the Glazers’ management of United.
The people from Qatar who want to buy the club are finishing the necessary investigations to make sure everything is okay before they can officially take over. They will probably finish the deal by around the middle of October.
Besides doing their own research and investigation, the Qatari bid must also meet the requirements set by the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ test, also known as the Fit and Proper Persons’ test, before it can be approved.
The agreement won’t be finished on time for United to spend money on new players before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. However, Sheikh Jassim plans to improve both Old Trafford stadium and the club’s Carrington training ground.
The Qatari and Ineos bids cannot provide any updates or make comments about the process because of non-disclosure agreements they signed.
But Ratcliffe said Sheikh Jassim won’t have unlimited money to spend. That was not always true, like with PSG and Manchester City.