Manchester United sale: Two confirmed bidders as Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani rivals Sir Jim Ratcliffe

The soft deadline has passed and two prospective buyers have put their head above the parapet to confirm their interest in Manchester United. Should the Glazer family conclude that they do indeed want to cash out at Old Trafford, it seems so likely, perhaps even inevitable, that the Red Devils will become the most valuable sports franchise ever sold, eclipsing the $4.65 billion a consortium paid for the Denver Broncos in 2022.

It would represent an almighty return for the Glazers, who completed a $1.4bn leveraged buyout of United in 2005 to the anger of most supporters. A great many of those who felt so betrayed in the first place have never come on board with the current owners, who continued to enjoy success in the early years of their tenure, but who, since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, have shown no ability to turn one of the sport’s wealthiest clubs into a serial trophy winner.

On Friday night at 5 p.m. ET the soft deadline set by selling bank Raine Capital passed, a point at which any interested parties were asked to put together a proposal. Strictly speaking because Manchester United are a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange there is nothing stopping interested parties from entering the race at a later stage, but after early concerns that the Glazers’ demands had priced out the competition there are offers on the table for ownership to consider.

Ineos offer

Ineos, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, were among the firsts to delcare their interest and, having publicly announced that they had started the process of bidding for United, it was no surprise that they formally entered the race on Friday night. “We can confirm that Sir Jim Ratcliffe & INEOS submitted a bid for majority ownership of Manchester United,” said a spokesperson on Saturday morning. “We would see our role as long-term custodians of Manchester United on behalf of the fans and wider community. 

“We are ambitious and highly competitive and would want to invest in Manchester United to make them the number one club in the world once again. We recognise football governance in this country is at crossroads. We would want to help lead this next chapter, deepening the culture of English football by making the club a beacon for a modern, progressive, fan-centred approach to ownership. We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and anchored in the North-West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League.”

This statement and that of his rival bidder are both notable for offering what almost seems to be a time machine back to the 1990s. There is less talk of progressing forward and exploring new opportunities — notably Ratcliffe makes a very clear commitment to the Champions League, the Glazers were among the drivers of the initial attempts to form the European Super League — more of getting United back to their victorious past. 

Petrochemicals billionaire Ratcliffe, who was born in Greater Manchester, has made no secret of his desire to eventually own United and even though he submitted a late offer to acquire Chelsea during last year’s sales process he always had eyes on Old Trafford. Speaking to the Financial Times in October, he said: “I’m a lifelong Manchester United fan. I was there in that most remarkable match in 1999 in Barcelona. That is deeply etched in my mind.” Multiple reports in the hours after the deadline passed said that Ratcliffe viewed himself as a British leader for the club. In 2020 he moved from Britain to tax-free Monaco.

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Ratcliffe has an extensive history in sport. Ineos took over cycling outfit Team Sky in 2019 and has a sailing team as well as a partnership with Formula One powerhouse Mercedes. The group also owns two football clubs, Lausanne in Switzerland and Ligue 1 side Nice. That could prove to be a complicating factor. UEFA rules prohibit clubs with the same ownership participating in the same competition. How closely this is enforced would be up for debate considering Manchester City’s membership of the City Football Group. Sparta Prague president Daniel Kretinsky also has a stake in West Ham that is due to convert into full ownership.

Petrochemical firm Ineos has been accused of “greenwashing” on several occasions in recent years, for instance in its sponsorship of Daily Mile school activities in the UK. According to Client Earth, Ineos produces one-third of the UK’s entire plastic waste output at its Grangemouth plant. Ineos says it is “committed to advancing towards zero pollution in its value chains.”

Qatari bid also received

The only bidder to have so far stated publicly that they have made an offer is Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, who released a statement on Friday via Nine Two Foundation. “Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani today confirmed his submission of a bid for 100% of Manchester United,” it said. “The bid plans to return the club to its former glories both on and off the pitch, and – above all – will seek to place the fans at the heart of Manchester United once more.

“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. The vision of the bid is for Manchester United to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world. More details of the bid will be released, when appropriate, if and when the bid process develops.”

Thani is the son of the former Qatari prime minister and chairman of QIB, a Qatari bank. Speculation had been rife that either Qatar Sports Investment, a state controlled vehicle that owns PSG, or the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) would make a move but Thani’s bid is understood to be made from his own private wealth. QIA does however own a stake in QIB.

The possibility of Qatari ownership at Old Trafford has prompted further questions over the gulf state’s human rights record mere months after it drew the wrong sorts of headlines for its clamping down on equality displays such as the One Love armband at the World Cup. Amnesty International said any bid from the country would be a “continuation of (Qatar’s) state-backed sportswashing project”. 

United’s officially recognised LGBTQ+ supporters group said: “Rainbow Devils believe any bidder seeking to buy Manchester United must commit to making football a sport for everyone, including LGBTQ+ supporters, players and staff. We therefore have deep concern over some of the bids that are being made. We are watching the current process closely with this in mind.”

Are there any others who could enter the race?

For several years before the Glazers entered into this process it had been suggested that Saudi Arabia would be a likely source of a bid for the Red Devils. Whilst their Public Investment Fund has since taken a stake in Newcastle it remains to be seen whether other interested parties will emerge from the kingdom. There is also a strong possibility that US investors make a move. Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who partly own a stake at Crystal Palace, have long hankered for a bigger club to make their mark on. Having fallen short in their bid for Chelsea last year they are believed to hold an interest in United.

What happens next?

These bids are rather more the beginning of the process than the end. Neither party has made public what their initial offer is and it should be noted that their view of United could change if and when they get access to more detailed finances. Equally the Glazers must decide if they do indeed wish to proceed with a full sale, which Thani has publicly confirmed he wants.

No one involved in this process will want to drag it out for the sake of it but equally there is not the same ticking clock that there was in the last mega sale of a Premier League club when Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea last year having been sanctioned by the British government.