The battle to acquire Manchester United is close to being settled, after months of racing and competition in bidding, between a Qatari alliance led by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Qatar Islamic Bank, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe offered to acquire 60% of Manchester United, while Sheikh Jassim seeks full control of the English football giant.
According to a report published by the British “Daily Mail”, the subsidiary of Ratcliffe was closer to the acquisition, but the Qatari side made an improved offer last week, and they were more optimistic about their chances of acquiring the “Red Devils”.
The British “Mirror” quoted the Qatari newspaper, Al-Watan, as saying that the Qatari bid won the bidding war to own Manchester United. And the Qatari Al-Watan published on Twitter that the acquisition attempt of Sheikh Jassim was successful and that the announcement of the deal will be issued soon.
Manchester United was put on the market after the Glazers announced in November that they were open to the idea of selling United.
The Qatari offer is estimated at about 5 billion pounds in exchange for full control of United, while Ratcliffe’s Eneos offered to acquire 60% of the club.
The United takeover saga has now come to an end after seven long months of speculation and competitive bidding.
Last November, the Glazer family announced, for the first time, their desire to sell the club, the same night they confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure.
