According to a claim on a Qatari news website, Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has won the competition to purchase Manchester United.
Sheikh Jassim and British millionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe were engaged in a bidding war over ownership of the Premier League heavyweights.
The 20-time English champions received a fifth and final offer last week from the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank, which, according to the Al-Watan daily, was picked as the best offer by United’s present owners, the Glazers.
On Monday night, Al-Watan tweeted that Sheikh Jassim’s takeover attempt had been a “success” and that an official announcement would soon follow.
Although specifics have not been made public, according to UK media reports, Sheikh Jassim’s final offer for complete control of United, made on June 7, was £5 billion.
According to an earlier article in The Guardian newspaper, the offer involves paying off a $1 billion debt and creating a fund specifically for the club and the neighborhood.
Ratcliffe, the CEO of the Ineos Group and a lifelong United supporter, had planned to buy almost 60% of the organization. His offer includes a suggestion that would let the Glazers stay for a predetermined amount of time before being bought out by a third party.
The club was initially valued at £6 billion by the Glazer family after it was put on the market.
A decision by the Glazers will shortly be made, according to a story in Al-Watan, bringing an end to one of the longest takeovers of a football club in recent memory.
