Romano reveals why Sheikh Jassim pulled out of Man Utd takeover race

Tom Weber

16 Oct 2023 17:38 BST
3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed why Sheikh Jassim left the Manchester United takeover race.

Article continues under the video

INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has won the battle and, it seems, he will also win the war. The British billionaire is waiting for his acquisition of a 25 per cent minority stake in Man Utd to be ratified after Jassim withdrew from the bidding.

As has been reported by Fabrizio Romano and journalist Ben Jacobs, this is the first step in what Ratcliffe hopes will eventually become a full takeover. For now, the Glazers, the unpopular current owners, will stay on board, but Ratcliffe, who will assume control of the club's sporting operations, is hoping to oust them in due time.

READ: Ratcliffe eyes first MAJOR move after Man Utd investment

Had Jassim won the race, it would have been a full takeover immediately, but the Glazers were never keen on that in the first place, and this played a massive role in him pulling out.

What did Romano say?

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed: "The Glazers said 'no' to the final proposal of Sheikh Jassim, restructured by Sheikh Jassim and his team in recent days. He structured the proposal with a very clear intention: to offer more than $6 billion for Man Utd, so it was something around $6.5bn from the Qatari family."

"Also, $1.5bn to be invested immediately, so $6.5bn to the Glazers, $1.5bn to the club, into structures, into training facilities, into the stadium, into new signings also. So, something to invest almost immediately to help Man Utd and to restart the process with a new owner."

REVEALED: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plans for Man Utd stadium

"After spending seven and almost eight months in negotiations with the Glazer family, the feeling of Sheikh Jassim and those close to him was that there was nothing to do, the Glazer family were not prepared to sell Man Utd at their conditions. They believe it's incredible because Sheikh Jassim is convinced that he was the dream owner, he was going to clear all the debts at Man Utd."