A potential Qatri bid to buy Manchester United is reportedly causing ‘significant worries’ at PSG.
Manchester United is up for sale and the current owners, the Glazer family, have reportedly set a soft deadline of February 17th for interested parties to submit their bids to The Raine Group, the company overseeing the takeover.
So far, only Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos have officially announced their intention to make an offer, though there have been widespread reports that there is expected to be a bid from private investors in Qatar.
The Daily Mail reported earlier this week that UEFA ‘will not block a bid’ from the Gulf Nation, despite initial concerns about Qatar Sports Investments’ ownership of PSG.
The bid for Manchester United is set to come from a ‘separate entity’, with UEFA rules preventing two clubs with the same management from competing in the same competitions.
According to L’Equipe though, the potential bid for the Old Trafford outfit is still causing ‘significant worries’ at the French club, with the private investors set to operate under the Qatar Investment Authority which reports directly to Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
The Emir has reportedly always been keen to buy a club in England due to the high-profile nature and increased income opportunities of the Premier League, with Ligue 1 said to be viewed as lacking growth potential.
There are said to be concerns in Paris that should the Qatari’s complete a takeover of United, they could focus their funding on the Red Devils rather than on PSG, with potential shirt sponsorship from the likes of Qatar Airways potentially being diverted towards Old Trafford.
The report says that Qatari leaders feel that they haven’t received the recognition they deserve for the impact they have had on French football, and are beginning to feel disengaged with the project, with a full or partial sale having been considered in recent years.
Meanwhile, on the pitch, United take on Barcelona on Thursday evening in their high-profile Europa League playoff game at Camp Nou.
