The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has expressed his keen interest in buying Manchester United, although his valuation of the club is well below the Glazer family’s £6bn price. To further complicate matters, there is the need for UEFA to agree to a regulation change as the country’s ruler also happens to be the owner of Ligue 1 juggernauts, Paris Saint-Germain.
The Emir assumed ownership of PSG in 2011 through Qatar Sports Investment, which means – with the current UEFA rules not allowing clubs with the same owners to face each other in one of its competitions – a Qatar-owned United and Qatar-owned PSG would not be allowed to compete in a Champions League tie should such a fixture arise.
Nonetheless, the purchase of United is still being explored although it is understood that those in pursuit of the Qatar interest are cognizant of the UEFA rules and are seeking a solution. One of the main avenues could include trying to persuade UEFA to consider the possibility of adjusting or changing its regulations.
United were finally put up for sale in November by the Glazer family, who announced they are “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives”, potentially bringing an end to their 17-year ownership of the club. The American owners appointed the Raine Group, which oversaw the sale of Chelsea, as the exclusive financial adviser, and the figure of £6bn has been put up for the 20-times champions of England. However, the Emir is of the view that £4.5bn is a more realistic price.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s most affluent billionaires, confirmed his company, Ineos, was in the running to buy United last month. Radcliffe, 70, was born in Failsworth – now a part of Greater Manchester – and is a lifelong United supporter.
As for the dissidents, Amnesty International has described Qatari interest in United as “another wake-up call” to the Premier League insofar as strengthening its ownership rules is concerned.
“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,” said Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK’s economic affairs director.
“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.”