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
Man Utd rut ‘not good enough’ but Ten Hag vows to fight on
LONDON: Erik ten Hag took responsibility for Manchester United’s miserable showing in a 4-0 thrashing by Crystal Palace on Monday, but said he is still the right man to turn the club’s fortunes around.
Palace completed a first ever league double over United in style as Michael Olize scored twice, while Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell were also on target for the in-form Eagles.
Defeat left Ten Hag’s men eighth and at risk of both their worst ever Premier League finish and missing out on European competition next season.
The Dutchman’s future is in doubt with structural change ongoing at Old Trafford since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake and took sporting control of the club earlier this year.
“It’s clear and it’s obvious this is under-performing,” said Ten Hag. “We didn’t act how we want to do it and this is by far not good enough.”
Ten Hag’s options were again limited by a mounting injury list.
Captain Bruno Fernandes missed a club game through injury for the first time in his career, while England international duo Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire were also absent.
The makeshift center-back pairing of Casemiro and Jonny Evans were torn apart by Palace’s pace and invention.
“Absolutely,” added Ten Hag on whether believes he is the right man to lead United forward.
“If we have the right players available we have a good squad but we miss almost the whole back-line and then we have problems.
“I will keep fighting and I prepared the team in the best way I could do. It was not good enough, by far not good enough, so I have to take the responsibility for that but I will find the energy and I will prepare them for Sunday.”
Worse could be to come for Ten Hag when title-chasing Arsenal visit Old Trafford at the weekend.
United have never failed to finish in the top seven in the Premier League era and must do so or beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final to qualify for Europe.
But the embarassing scoreline at Selhurst Park is not unprecedented during Ten Hag’s reign.
United lost 4-0 at Brentford, 7-0 to Liverpool and 6-3 away to Manchester City during his first season in charge.
This season they have conceded 81 goals in all competitions, the club’s worst tally since 1976-77.
After a disappointing early exits from both the Champions League and League Cup, a FA Cup run has offered Ten Hag some relief.
But they booked their place in a second consecutive final only by surviving a penalty shootout against second-tier Coventry after blowing a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3.
“That was tough to watch,” said former United midfielder Paul Scholes of the Red Devils’ display at Palace. “That could have been 7-0.”
Ratcliffe’s INEOS group have already begun making appointments they hope will turn around a decade of decline at the 20-time English champions.
Jason Wilcox has been named the club’s new technical director, while Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth has been targeted as sporting director and former Manchester City executive Omar Berrada will take over as CEO.
Day three of Saudi Smash table tennis event serves up shocks, surprises
- Drama unfolded in the women’s and men’s singles
JEDDAH: Day three of the Saudi Smash tournament served up shocks and surprises as some of the pre-tournament favourites were eliminated.
In the women’s singles, Manika Batra ended Wang Manyu’s quest for successive Grand Smash titles.
A ranked outsider ahead of Saudi Smash, India’s Batra overcame the Chinese world number 2 and Singapore Smash 2024 champion in convincing fashion, sealing a last 16 place with a 3-1 victory – the tournament’s biggest upset so far.
Reflecting on her giant-killing win inside the Infinity Arena, Batra said: “I’m delighted with the win against Wang – this is a great moment for me. I’ve lost twice previously against her, but I was well-prepared, gave 100% and played at my highest level.
She continued: “For me, I’m enjoying the Saudi Smash and this is key. Enjoyment is helping me to embrace the atmosphere and win. I’m taking it one match at a time, but today was a great win and I’m happy to be in the next round.”
More drama unfolded shortly after in the Men’s Singles Round of 64 – as Jonathan Groth beat world number 6 Lin Gaoyuan.
The Danish star sealed his best-ever win on the World Table Tennis tour with a 3-1 win against China’s two-time World Team Championship gold medallist.
“I’m really happy to have won,” the world number 27 said after his match.
“Lin Gaoyuan played some of the best table tennis at the ITTF World Cup just a few weeks ago and maybe should have won the title, so I’m thrilled to play him and win when he’s in top shape.
“I’m happy with how I handled the crucial moments out there against a great player. I enjoyed myself today, I prepared well, and now I’m looking forward to the last 16 where another top players awaits.”
Suryakumar hits ton as Mumbai dent Hyderabad’s play-off push
- Chasing 174 for victory, Mumbai slipped to 31-3 before Suryakumar Yadav put on an unbeaten stand of 143 with Tilak Varma to achieve the target
- Hyderabad, led by Pat Cummins, stay fourth in the table but their fifth loss and a big one could hurt their play-off chances
MUMBAI: Suryakumar Yadav hit an unbeaten 102 to lead Mumbai Indians to a crushing seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday as teams jostle for a play-off berth in the IPL.
Chasing 174 for victory, Mumbai slipped to 31-3 before Suryakumar put on an unbeaten stand of 143 with Tilak Varma to achieve the target with 16 balls to spare at their home Wankhede Stadium.
Suryakumar hit the winning six, which also raised his second IPL ton in 51 balls and comes as a welcome sign for India ahead of the T20 World Cup in June in the West Indies and the United States.
However the win for five-time winners Mumbai, placed ninth in the 10-team table, could be late in a tournament fast moving toward its business end.
Hyderabad, led by Pat Cummins, stay fourth in the table but their fifth loss and a big one could hurt their play-off chances.
Hyderabad need to win two of their remaining three matches to make the play-offs as they remain locked at 12 points with third-placed Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at fifth.
The top four teams will make the play-offs with the final on May 26 in Chennai.
Former champions Hyderabad posted 173-8 courtesy of Travis Head’s 48 and an unbeaten 17-ball 35 by lower-order batter Cummins after being invited to bat first.
The left-handed Head gave the team a brisk start with his 30-ball knock before his departure in the 11th over and Hyderabad lost their way with regular wickets.
Skipper Hardik Pandya spinner Piyush Chawla took three wickets each to rattle the opposition middle and lower-order as Hyderabad slipped to 136-8 in 17 overs.
But number nine Cummins had other ideas as the Australian Test and ODI captain hit back in the final three overs and put on an unbeaten stand of 37 off 19 balls with Sanvir Singh.
The batting effort inspired the team and fast bowlers came roaring to reduce Mumbai to 31-3 including the key wicket of Rohit Sharma, out caught behind for four off Cummins.
Suryakumar soon took charge with his attacking batting as he raised his 50 in 30 balls and hammered the opposition bowling with 12 fours and six sixes.
The left-handed Varma made 37 and enjoyed Suryakumar’s blitz from the other end.
FIA President Ben Sulayem welcomes Trump to Miami Grand Prix
- The former US president witnessed maiden Formula 1 win for McLaren’s Lando Norris
MIAMI: Former US president Donald Trump was welcomed to the Miami Grand Prix by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, where he saw McLaren’s Lando Norris notch up his first Formula 1 victory.
Sunday’s race saw British driver Norris take the checkered flag from three-time world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull Racing car. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came third.
Trump, along with a number of famous athletes and other celebrities, delighted the audience by engaging with fans and attendees. He was also invited behind the scenes to tour the McLaren pit garage accompanied by the team’s CEO, American Zak Brown.
A spokesman for the Miami Grand Prix said the race weekend had sold out, with more than 275,000 fans in attendance to witness the high-octane atmosphere and exciting result.
Sandhagen to face Nurmagomedov at UFC fight night in Abu Dhabi
- The event will take place at the Etihad Arena on Aug 3
ABU DHABI: UFC has announced that its return to Abu Dhabi will see No. 2 ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen face No. 9 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Etihad Arena.
Tickets for the event, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi go on sale from on Tuesday, May 7
Sandhagen, with a record of 17-4 and fighting out of Aurora, Colorado, returns to the UAE capital to cement his status as top contender in the bantamweight division. The Colorado native boasts wins over Rob Font, Chito Vera, and soon-to-be UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar. He now hopes for a convincing win over rising star Nurmagomedov to make his case for a title shot.
Nurmagomedov, 17-0, fighting out of Chelyabinsk, Russia, looks to put the division on notice by taking out a top-ranked opponent and making his first Octagon appearance in Abu Dhabi. He made his mark in the division after delivering dominant performances over Raoni Barcelos, Brian Kelleher and Sergey Morozov.
Now, he sets his sights on securing the biggest win of his career by getting his hand raised against Sandhagen.
