Man Utd takeover: Fabrizio Romano gives Sheikh Jassim update

Stuart Telford

• 22 Jul 2023 14:45 BST
• 3 min read

Sheikh Jassim remains at the front of the queue to buy Manchester United despite the Glazers dragging their heels on a deal, according to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano.

The Glazers first put Man Utd on the market in November, but the summer 2023 transfer window has already rolled around with no new owners in place.

Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, once the UK's richest man, have both lodged bids of at least £5 billion, but the Glazer siblings are understood to be in disagreement as to which offer, if any, to accept.

READ: Man Utd takeover: Sheikh Jassim tipped to 'move interest' to London club

There were reports recently that Sheikh Jassim in particular was getting fed up with waiting, and BBC football correspondent Simon Stone even speculating that he could shift his interest to a London club like Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham.

Now, according to Romano, the Qatari bid remains active, although Jassim is happy to take a step back for the time being.

'Jassim wants to stay quiet'

"Honestly, they want to stay very quiet at the moment," he told GiveMeSport. "So, the strategy alternate point of view and the communication point of view is very different.

"They want to stay very quiet because they understand that the situation is now changing. So, it's quite frustrating for all parties involved in the story."

READ: Glazers takeover stalling costs Man Utd chance to hijack PERFECT player

Jassim's offer is that of a 100 per cent takeover, with a separate budget to clear the club's debt and redevelop Old Trafford and the surrounding area.

Despite the uncertainty over their ownership, United have been busy in the summer transfer market, signing Mason Mount from Chelsea and Andre Onana from Chelsea for a combined £100 million.

With a transfer budget of £120m due to FFP, United will now have to sell before signing one of their major targets like Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund. Harry Maguire, who has recently been stripped of the captaincy, should be one of the first to leave.