Man Utd takeover news: Qatar remain ‘optimistic’ amid Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘nightmare’

As the Manchester United takeover process continues to drag, recent reports that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s delegation had won the battle are looking increasingly wide of the mark.

There was a fresh wave of speculation on Monday night that the Qatari’s offer was to be accepted, mainly due to a tweet from Al Watan, one of the biggest publications in the Gulf state.

However, The Athletic, incredibly, claim that the origins of the story come from a Twitter account based in Cardiff which has barely 300 followers. The news and subsequent reports online resulted in a huge soar in the club’s stock price, which rose by 24 percent overnight.

Meanwhile, if Sheikh Jassim’s offer were to be accepted, it may take two to three weeks to be ratified by the Premier League which would ‘eat into’ the transfer plans of Erik ten Hag, claim the i. There is, nevertheless, increasing optimism around the offer from Qatar due to the complications surrounding Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid.

The 70-year-old is the only rival to Sheikh Jassim at this stage, and his Ineos firm have proposed an offer to buy the club and allow the Glazers to retain a minority stake, although those shares would have to be sold in full at a later date. Ratcliffe’s offer ‘would use loans and bonds drawn from some of the biggest banks in the world to fund it’ the i add, which could prove to be a ‘nightmare’ given the current state of the debt market.

It’s also believed any agreement that the Glazers would need to sell their remaining shares is complicated due to the difficulties surrounding how the club would be valued in the intervening years. The i also state both the Ineos and Qatar delegations are ‘in the dark’ on the latest movements in the takeover process, but exclusivity with one party could be agreed ‘by the weekend’.

Should Sheikh Jassim’s approach ultimately win, El Pais report that Qatar’s intention is to sell Kylian Mbappe to United, a transfer that has been planned since February.

Elsewhere, as the speculation surrounding Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe continues, ESPN claim that ‘a host of investment firms also remain in the running’ including: Carlyle, Elliott Management, Ares Management Corporation and Sixth Street. The quartet have offered minority investment that would allow the Glazers to remain in control but provide funds to ‘the playing squad and infrastructure’.