Why Sheikh Jassim pulled out of Manchester United takeover as fresh conversation comes to light
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani was interested in buying Man United from the Glazers before withdrawing his interest in late 2023
Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani withdrew his offer to buy Manchester United because he was "conscious of overpaying for the club" - according to the co-founder of Raine Group, the bank that oversaw the sale process.
Jassim was one of the leading candidates to purchase the club from the Glazers after the Americans announced in November 2022 that they would be "commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives". It was presumed to be the start of a slow exit plan from Old Trafford for United's owners.
However, in late 2023 it was Ineos CEO Ratcliffe who eventually struck a deal and acquired a minority stake in United after Jassim withdrew from the bidding process just weeks earlier. As a result, the motivations of the Qatari business were questioned, with sections of the Old Trafford fanbase questioning whether Jassim had actually provided proof of funds for a potential purchase of the 20-time English champions.
But according to Joe Ravitch, the co-founder of Raine - who were appointed to supervise the sales process, Jassim was "very real" in his intention to buy United and tabled "very serious bids" to make an outright.
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"We met Jassim. He was in New York. He’s a lovely guy; a very smart guy," explained Ravitch, in an interview with The Times. "The Qataris were very real. They were very smart guys, very thoughtful.
"I don’t know why they didn’t appreciate the value [of the club] but we were not their adviser. We tried as the seller to explain the value to them, and they put what they thought was a series of very serious bids on the table."
However, Ravitch claims that United's valuation was inadvertently increased by the sale of NFL side Washington Commanders in July 2023, who were purchased by American investor Josh Harris for roughly £5billion.
"My clients [the Glazers] are also smart guys. We thought the value would be around $6.5 billion [about £5 billion], so we were kind of spot on with regards to where Ratcliffe ended up," added Ravitch.
"But when the Washington Commanders [NFL team] went for $6 billion we all thought: ‘Well, United is the most important sports team in the world; more than a billion fans. The Commanders own one 32nd of the NFL. Their economics are severely limited by the commercial sharing caps placed on it by the league.
"We know that because the Glazers also own a NFL team. Therefore if someone is willing to pay six billion for the Commanders, someone should be willing to pay more for United.’
"I think the Qataris got to about $5.75 billion. We said to them, ‘You’re within 10 per cent, why don’t you get in a room and try to get to a deal.’ But they said no. I think they were very conscious of criticism if they were seen to be overpaying.
"Ultimately we think they would have been good owners but we think the Glazers made the right decision not to take the lesser value, and go with Ratcliffe instead."
Last month, Ratcliffe's 25 per cent stake in Manchester United was ratified by the Premier League after the Ineos chief successfully passed the league's owners' and directors' test.