Qatar ready imminent bid for Manchester United | OneFootball

Qatari investors are preparing a bid for Manchester United in the coming days, with the country wanting to become a significant player in world football, according to Bloomberg.

The Qatari consortium will move to submit a first bid before the Friday deadline.

Officials at the sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and the local family office will help handle preparations.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the ruling emir of Qatar, is a United fan. He is spearheading the charge to take over the club.

The Raine Group is handling the sale. They helped sell Chelsea from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Consortium.

The Glazer family announced their search for strategic investment in the club months ago. They want to sell some or all of their shares. There are still debates within the family on that front.

Raine reportedly values the United at around £5 billion. The club’s stock has been rising since speculation of new ownership in the summer.

Man United’s shares rose by almost 5.3% during trading at the New York Stock Exchange this morning.

There are worries about whether the Qatari group bidding for Man United is related to Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) which owns Paris Saint-Germain.

UEFA’s rules prevent teams with the same majority owner from competing in Europe’s major tournaments, including the Champions League.

But the QIA is a separate entity. Even if they have the same owners, they can compete if they show a separation of leadership. RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig faced off in the Europa League a few years ago.

Despite the Qatar rumours, only Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has announced his interest in purchasing Man United. He runs multiple sports teams under his company INEOS.

Ratcliffe is a boyhood United fan and would love to have the Premier League club. He had previously submitted a bid to buy Chelsea but lost out.

He is now working on a potential offer for United with Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase.