'Significant role' for PSG president in Man Utd takeover talks | OneFootball

Manchester United’s prolonged takeover has taken a new twist on Friday.

According to The Athletic, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has played a significant role in the developments behind a group fronted by Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim.

The group is one of two frontrunners for the Premier League club, along with British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The report claims Sheikh Jassim consulted Al-Khelaifi for advice, and former Manchester United owners (Glazer family) later contacted the PSG representative “in an attempt to persuade Sheikh Jassim to increase his bid.”

Al-Khelaifi, widely regarded as one of the most powerful men in football, is said to have met the Glazers and American bank Raine Group in an advisory role to discuss the purchase.

A bid in the region of £5bn was reportedly submitted earlier this week as a “fifth and final attempt” by Sheikh Jassim, whose representatives stress he is privately very wealthy and is independent of the Qatari state. However, the Glazers initially asked for £6.4bn.

The revealed partnership has reportedly lead to multiple Premier League clubs fearing Sheikh Jassim “may simply be a face for the Qatari state” if he were to become United’s owner.

That is due to the PSG president’s pull in football, being the chairman of beIN Media Group and boss of Qatar Sports Investments (a subsidiary of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund of which he is also a member of the board), who continue to make approaches for club ownership worldwide.

Additionally, if Sheikh Jassim was to win the race for Manchester United, both the English club and PSG could miss out on Champions League football if they had common ownership under UEFA rules. The governing body would then have to decide who truly owns the clubs.

The Athletic adds Sheikh Jassim’s team insists he wants to own Manchester United himself, not alongside Al-Khelaifi.