Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim withdraws from bidding to buy Manchester United
14 October 2023, 21:11 | Updated: 14 October 2023, 23:31
Sheikh Jassim has withdrawn from the bidding to buy Manchester United.
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Sheikh Jassim and British entrepreneur Sir Jim Ratcliffe have been in competition to buy the Old Trafford giants from the Glazer family, who have been unpopular with the Red Devils' faithful since taking control in 2005.
The Qatari sheikh became the first bidder to publicly confirm he had made an offer for Manchester United, followed by Sir Jim.
The takeover process has rumbled on for months, with Sheikh Jassim withdrawing from the process this week. He told the Glazers of his decision in the past few days.
Sheikh Jassim's team announced in February that he had submitted a bid to buy 100 per cent of the club, promising a completely debt-free takeover via his Nine Two Foundation.
The bid is understood to have eventually reached around double the current 3.2billion dollars (£2.6bn) market valuation of the Premier League club.
An additional 1.7bn dollars (£1.4bn) is believed to have been pledged for infrastructure projects.
Earlier this month it was reported that Ineos chief Sir Jim was considering changing his offer and buying a minority stake in United.
It was reported he may seek a stake in the region of 25% as part of a proposal to try to bring the drawn-out sale process to an end, having initially wanted to complete a majority takeover.
If the Glazers accepted this new reported offer, it would see the American family still retain majority control of the club.
Manchester United have had a difficult start to the Premier League season, sitting tenth in the league table.
