One of the two major bidders for Manchester United Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has labelled claims suggesting he has won the race to buy the club as pure speculations, News About Nigeria reports.
News emanating from Qatar media outfit Al-Watan had on Monday announced that the Chairman of the Qatar Islamic bank has emerged successful in the acquisition.
Al-Watan is said to have cited international media as the basis of their report that has since thrown the social media space into chaos, with a fellow Qatari businessman misguiding, congratulating Sheikh Jassim.
Meanwhile, in less than 12 hours after the news broke, the Press Association in a counter report, noted that Sheikh Jassim’s camp is still waiting on the Glazers family to make their decision.
Recall that Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have been the major contenders for United ownership for the better part of eight months, with no conclusion from the Glazers family yet.
It’s understood that the Glazers are demanding £6 billion from anyone willing to buy the club, so as to sanction a full sale, but the US merchant bank Raine, who has been overseeing the sale process since United were put on the market in November, seems not to have received such offer yet.
Sheikh Jassim has laid out his intention for a debt-free 100 per cent takeover, while Ratcliffe, a Manchester-born petrochemical mogul opted for an initial majority stake of 60 percent while allowing the Glazers brothers Joel and Avram to remain at Old Trafford until 2026 through minority shares totalling 20 percent.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Jassim lodged a fifth and final offer last week to buy the club, putting pressure on the Glazers who are now running out of time.
