Man Utd takeover: Jassim confident of beating Ratcliffe… but not the Glazers

Stuart Telford

• 2 Jul 2023 08:41 BST
• 3 min read

Sheikh Jassim has pulled ahead of Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the race to own Manchester United, but there is a growing suspicion that the Glazer family might decide not to sell at all.

Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Ratcliffe - once the UK's richest man - have been locked in a bidding war since November, when the Glazers first put United on the market.

Jassim's bid brings with it the promise to wipe the club's £1 billion debt as well as a separate budget to redevelop Old Trafford and the surrounding area, while Ratcliffe's could leave the Glazers as minority shareholder - something the majority of fans don't want to see.

READ: Man Utd to MISS OUT on top transfer target due to FFP

Bloomberg report that Ratcliffe's bid is "dead in the water" - not that the INEOS chief has pulled out - and now frequent FootballTransfers collaborator Ben Jacobs has shed more light on the matter.

Glazers could opt for 'no sale'

"Maybe the only difference at this point is that there's a real feeling on the Qatar side, that it will now be a case of them being successful, or a no sale, possibly with some kind of financing baked in," he told GiveMeSport.

"So, instead of Qatar looking this as them versus Ratcliffe, which has been the narrative for much of the takeover, I think Nine Two Foundation [Jassim's UK company] feel like it's about whether they're picked or whether the Glazers opt for a no sale with some form of financing, then put the club on the market at a later date."

READ: REVEALED: Ratcliffe's SHOCK Man Utd ALTERNATIVE

It is understood the Glazers want £6bn for a club their father, Malcolm, paid £800 million for with a heavily debt-leveraged takeover in 2005.

The Red Devils sustained their success when Sir Alex Ferguson was still manager, but since the Scot's retirement - and final Premier League title win - in 2013, they have gone a decade without being crowned English champions.