Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani has confirmed that he has made a bid to buy Manchester United.
Manchester United have been up for sale since November, with the Glazer family having set a ‘soft deadline’ of 10pm GMT on Friday evening for interested parties to submit their offers.
Interest from Qatar has been heavily reported in recent weeks, with some reports saying that the Gulf Nation are ‘confident’ of being able to win the race.
Sheikh Hassim Bin-Jabber previously served as Qatar’s Prime Minister from April 2007 to June 2013
He is now the chairman of one of Qatar’s biggest banks, and has confirmed that he has placed a bid to buy the Old Trafford club.
“Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani today confirmed his submission of a bid for 100 per cent of Manchester United Football Club,” a statement reads.
“The bid plans to return the club to its former glories both on and off the pitch, and – above all – will seek to place the fans at the heart of Manchester United Football Club once more.
“The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football team, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the Club supports.
“The vision of the bid is for Manchester United Football Club to be renowened for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world.
“More details of the bid will be released, when appropriate, if and when the bid process develops.”
French outlet RMC Sport are reporting that the bid ‘could be around €4.5billion’.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the only other party to so far have officially announced his intention to make a bid, though it expected that there will be further offers from the USA and perhaps Saudi Arabia.
