MANCHESTER, England: A Qatar-based bid for Manchester United was confirmed Friday, with Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani promising to rid the iconic soccer team of debt and return it to former glories.
Sheikh Jassim is the chairman of QIB, which is one of Qatar’s leading banks, and has submitted a 100 percent offer to buy out current owners the Glazer family.
“The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training center, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports,” a statement said.
“The vision of the bid is for Manchester United Football Club to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world.”
It did not mention what the bid would be.
Friday is the final day for serious contenders to step forward in the race to buy United.
After months of speculation and soaring share prices, initial offers need to be presented to merchant bank Raine Group, which is handling the sale of one of the most famous soccer teams in the world.
By the end of the day, the Glazers will have an idea of how much they can expect to make on the club they bought for about $1.4 billion in 2005.
The price is now estimated to reach as high as $6 billion, with reported interest from other parties seeing its value rise sharply as the deadline for bids approaches.
While Friday is described as a soft deadline, Raine and the Glazers will have a clearer picture of potential buyers before moving on to the next stage of the process. The announcement from Sheikh Jassim comes after growing speculation about interest from the gas and oil rich Qatar.
Previously only British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe had publicly confirmed his intention to bid for the club he has supported from childhood.
Along with Qatar, rumors persist that Elon Musk could be among a list of potential buyers from the United States.
Ratcliffe, the owner of petrochemicals giant INEOS, announced his intention to bid last month. That is a shift in strategy from last year when he launched a last-minute bid for Chelsea, but was not considered because he missed the deadline set by Raine, which also handled that sale.
Ratcliffe, who currently owns French club Nice, said last year that he had no interest in another bid for a Premier League club after missing out on Chelsea and receiving little encouragement from the Glazers for United. But he would be a popular choice among fans because of his longstanding support of the club.
Several Americans bid last year to buy Chelsea, with Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital eventually paying $3 billion for the London club. Rival bids came from Chicago Cubs owner the Ricketts family, Boston Celtics part-owner Steve Pagliuca and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
No American bids for United have been made public, unless you consider a Twitter post from Musk.
The CEO of Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX wrote “I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome” last August. And although he then pointed out it was a “long-running joke on Twitter,” rumors of a bid have not gone away.
Qatar-based bid for Man United confirmed on deadline day
https://arab.news/r9y2m
Qatar-based bid for Man United confirmed on deadline day
- “The vision of the bid is for Manchester United Football Club to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world”
- Friday is the final day for serious contenders to step forward in the race to buy United
Barcelona blitz Athletic Bilbao 5-0 to book place in Super Cup final
- Catalans turn uncertainty into complete control with breathtaking 16-minute spell that saw them race into a four-goal lead before the interval
- Raphinha struck again early in the second half, once more exploiting space down the flanks to extend the lead to 5-0
JEDDAH: It did not look like the easiest opening 20 minutes for Barcelona in Jeddah during their encounter with Athletic Bilbao. Yet in a breathtaking 16-minute spell, the Catalans turned uncertainty into complete control, racing into a four-goal lead before the interval.
More than 50,000 fans packed the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah to witness the spectacle, although the likes of Marcus Rashford and Lamine Yamal were rested, allowing opportunities for youngsters like Roony Bardghji and Fermin Lopez.
Lopez would emerge as one of the standout performers of the night. While his threat inside the box was evident, it was his creativity that truly shone in front of the Jeddawi crowd.
Barcelona broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute. A sweeping move from side to side ended with Raphinha finding Bardghji on the right, whose cutback was met by Lopez before being laid off for Ferran Torres to finish calmly for 1-0.
Just eight minutes later, an exquisite backheel from Pedri released Raphinha down the left flank once again, with his low cross this time finding Lopez to double Barcelona’s advantage.
Lopez contributed to his third goal of the night minutes later, this time slipping Bardghji down the right. The Kuwaiti-born winger skipped past Adama Boiro before striking at goal, with Unai Simon mishandling the ball as it trickled over the line.
The Blaugrana showed no signs of slowing down. Raphina finally got on the scoresheet in emphatic fashion with a belter into the top corner in the 38th minute.
To the surprise of many, neither side made any changes at the break. That decision quickly proved costly for Bilbao, as Raphinha struck again early in the second half, once more exploiting space down the flanks to extend the lead to 5-0.
With the contest beyond reach, Athletic head coach Ernesto Valverde rang the changes, making five substitutions to give minutes to his squad.
Barcelona, meanwhile, eased off to conserve energy ahead of Sunday’s final. To the delight of the crowd, both Rashford and Yamal were introduced, with Yamal receiving a warm standing ovation upon his entrance in the 72nd minute.
The emphatic victory marks Barcelona’s second consecutive five-goal display in the Spanish Super Cup, following last year’s 5-2 triumph over Real Madrid in the final.
The second semi-final takes place on Thursday, as Real Madrid face Atlético Madrid, with the winner set to meet Barcelona in Sunday’s final.
