Man Utd takeover: Sheikh Jassim preparing ‘£6bn bid’ to beat ‘preferred’ £5bn offer as share price slumps

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is said to be preparing a ‘final offer’ of £6bn to purchase Manchester United.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly the Glazers’ preferred bidder in the process to takeover the club, with his bid reported to be around the £5bn mark and with reports he has already started to plan transfers.

However, Saudi Sports Media journalist Nawaf Oga wrote on Twitter Sheikh Jassim has not given up hope of taking over the club.

He reported: “Qatar is preparing to raise a final offer to buy Manchester United for about 6 billion pounds.”

Reports last week suggested Sheikh Jassim was the preferred bidder as the process to purchase the Old Trafford club reached a third round of bidding.

However, Ratcliffe now looks to be leading the way as he has already been in contact with Raine Group, who are overseeing the sale.

Sheikh Jassim’s latest bid was claimed to be over £5bn, with hopes his new mega offer of £6bn will be enough to see off competition from Ratcliffe.

Sheikh Jassim is said to be keen on a full takeover while Ratcliffe’s bid would allow the Glazers to retain a stake in the club, with the INEOS chief executive taking a controlling interest.

A decision on the takeover may not come until the end of the Premier League season. On the pitch, Man United moved a step closer to Champions League football with a 2-0 win over Wolves on Sunday.

However, off-field uncertainty has led to a negative impact on the club’s share price, as it has dipped to $18.12. It peaked at $26.64 in February and has dropped from $20.29 on Wednesday.

Ex-Man Utd star Gary Neville reiterated his desire for the Glazers to sell the club as the process to drags on.

“I don’t want private equity into an English football club, I’ll be really clear. I don’t think it works,” he told CBS Sports. “I think football is about emotion. Believe it or not, in Manchester, I have a partnership with a US private equity fund and in other sectors of life, I love international investment.

“But I think in football clubs, you can’t go into it purely because you want to see a return. When it comes to the current bids, at this moment in time, I think Jim Ratcliffe’s bid has its merits, the Qatari bid has its own merits.

“My main concern at this moment in time is that the Glazer family sell and that they remove themselves from the club. They’ll make a lot of money, well done for that. They’ve proved to be very astute business people but now it’s time to hand over control because the club has deteriorated under their ownership.”