Qatari investors consider buying Manchester United

Investors from Qatar contacted the Glazer family, owners of the Manchester Unitedto make an offer to buy all or part of the English club, reported the English press this Thursday.

Since the announcement of the sale of the team, at the end of November last year, the only interested buyer so far is the petrochemical group Ineos, owned by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

While there is no formal sales calendar, the current owners expect to receive initial offers in mid-February.

The newspaper Daily Mail was the first to speculate that a “group of Qatari investors” would make an offer “in the next few days” that would “explode the competition”, but gave no details on the identity of these entrepreneurs or the value of the proposal, except that it would be an acquisition club total.

already the The Guardian cited the interest of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. However, as he already owns the Paris Saint Germain through the fund Qatar Sport Investment (QSI), a direct acquisition of Manchester United would go against current UEFA regulations, especially regarding the participation of the two teams in European competitions.

On Thursday, British news agency PA stressed that QSI would only seek a minority stake, either in Manchester United or another Premier League club, and that a takeover was “out of the question”.

Despite his injury, @Antony00 was in the house to support his team-mates last night 👏🗣#MUFC || #MUNLEE

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 9, 2023

According to the English press, the Glazer family, which has been at the helm of Manchester United since 2005, expects offers close to or greater than US$ 6.4 billion, which would be a record for a football team.

A Premier League has long attracted the attention of the Gulf countries. In 2008, the Manchester City it was bought by a company from the United Arab Emirates and Newcastle, by the Saudis, less than two years ago.