Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani will now make a SECOND offer for Manchester United after his team held positive talks with club officials that lasted 10 HOURS, including a tour of Old Trafford and presentations in Carrington.
- Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani to launch second bid for Man United
- Senior Qatari executives toured Old Trafford and Carrington on Wednesday
- Presentations to executives and positive talks were made in the club
The Qatari sheikh who wants to buy Manchester United will now make a second offer for the club after his team held positive talks with club officials in the city.
A team of senior representatives of Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani toured Old Trafford before sitting down for introductions at United’s Carrington training complex.
It is understood that the talks – which lasted around 10 hours – were cordial, extensive and very positive. Sheikh Jassim now has around 10 days to make a second offer as he seeks full control of United.
It is not clear if Raine Group, the US bank overseeing the process, will choose a party with which to participate exclusively or seek more rounds of offers.
What has been described as “a series of heavy hitters” arrived in Manchester around 10 a.m., with many taking the northbound train after flying to London. Among them were Shahzad Shahbaz, chairman of the Nine Two Foundation set up by the sheikh to take over United and Fady Bakhos, the sheikh’s top personal adviser.
Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani to launch second bid for Manchester United
Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani executives toured Old Trafford and Carrington on Thursday
Manchester United’s owners, the Glazers, did not attend meetings on Wednesday.
They were joined by Sam Powers, Bank of America’s global head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Yasir Shah, managing director of the same company that is helping with the financial element of the Qatar-based offering.
The party was welcomed by senior members of the Raine Group, which is overseeing the process, and shown around the iconic clubhouse, which is in need of substantial investment. They were then taken in black Mercedes minivans on a 15-minute drive to Carrington.
Officials held up black United-branded umbrellas to keep them dry on what was a rainy day in Manchester. At the training ground, various departments of the United business gave Powerpoint presentations. On the football side, they were shown how United approach recruiting.
They also spoke with executives from United’s business and finance arms. United’s owners, the Glazer family, were not present. Much of the attention was focused on the financial landscape. The group also took a tour of the complex, which is also in need of investment.
Sheikh Jassim was not present at the talks, which concluded around 7:20 p.m. United manager Erik ten Hag was in Seville, where his team defeated Real Betis 1-0 in the second leg of their Europa League tie to advance 5-1 on aggregate.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will speak to Manchester United club officials at Old Trafford on Friday.
On Friday, rival bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe will make similar presentations, along with members of his company Ineos’ bid team. Two other unnamed groups are said to be vying to take over the club with many other partial investment offers.
Ratcliffe will be joined by ex-Team Sky and British cycling’s supreme leader Sir Dave Brailsford, Ineos owners Andy Currie and John Reece, and Ineos Chairman and CEO Rob Nevin and Jean Claude Blanc.
Interestingly, Blanc worked for Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain as deputy CEO for the past 12 years after joining Juventus. The Frenchman left for Ineos in December and could well provide the inside scoop on Ratcliffe’s main rivals.
Ratcliffe’s group wants a majority stake in the Glazers, while Sheikh Jassim wants 100 per cent of the club and has promised to pay off the historic debt from the Glazer leveraged buyout.