As the February 17 deadline set by the Glazers nears, parties interested in making bids for Manchester United emerge
Qatari investors linked with the Royal family as well as other interested parties will be expected to make their final bids for Manchester United takeover by February 17.
Has Qatari Emir found a loophole in UEFA’s rule to own Man Utd?
There have been reports that investors that are tied to the Qatari Royal family will be making a bid to buy Manchester United. The Glazers have put a price tag of at least £5b for the club. However, the Qatari investors won’t over pay.
Reportedly, the Qatari Royal family were contacted late last year as to see if they would put in a bid to buy the club. While the Emir of Qatar currently owns PSG, he can’t really own another club that could be in the same competitions (Champions League, Europa League, etc.).
These Qatari bid has nothing to do with the PSG owners QSI and its chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Reportedly the ruler of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani is said to be a Manchester United supporter. So it would make sense if he put in a bid for United.
Alongside the Qatari investors, other big names that have been mentioned in recent days has been Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Elon Musk. While the Britain’s richest man Ratcliff seems to be the most serious contender, both he and Twitter owner Musk claim to have been boyhood United fans.
In the wake of the Qatari bid, however, Amnesty International has put out a statement that reads: “Coming in the wake of the World Cup and strenuous efforts from the Qatari government to fashion a glitzy new image for the country, it seems highly likely that any Qatari bid for Manchester United would be a continuation of this state-backed sportswashing project.
“We saw only limited reforms on migrant workers’ rights in Qatar in the lead-up to the World Cup, and there’s been no movement whatsoever in ending the disgraceful criminalization of LGBTQ+ people or institutional discrimination against women.
“It’s been nearly 18 months since the hugely controversial Saudi takeover of Newcastle United and a Qatari bid for Manchester United would be yet another wake-up call to the Premier League over the need to reform its ownership rules.
“We’re not necessarily opposed to the involvement of state-linked overseas financial consortia in English football, but the Premier League must urgently strengthen ownership rules to ensure they’re human rights-compliant and not an opportunity for more sportswashing.”
