Sheikh Jassim, the wealthy Qatari banker, is now setting his sights on acquiring Tottenham Hotspur after his failed attempt to take over Manchester United. While he initially offered a staggering £5 billion for complete ownership of Manchester United, negotiations with the Glazer family, who bought the club for £790 million in 2005, fell through, leaving British tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS as the primary contender.
Remarkably, Sheikh Jassim’s bid exceeded double the actual market valuation of Manchester United, which stands at approximately £2.6 billion, according to football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. Nevertheless, this setback hasn’t deterred the Qatari businessman from pursuing his goal of owning a Premier League club.
ESPN suggests that Sheikh Jassim might turn his attention to purchasing Tottenham Hotspur instead. Ogden expressed, “PSG was a great move because it’s Paris. It’s a great city, but they’ve found over the years that Ligue 1 is just not big enough. They want the Premier League footprint. Somebody recently told me that if the Qataris don’t buy Manchester United, they’ll be back and they might end up buying Tottenham.”
Sheikh Jassim has decided not to increase his offer for Manchester United beyond the $6 billion mark, informing the Glazer family, who control the club. This development has left Ineos Chair Jim Ratcliffe as the leading contender, as he has proposed buying a 25% stake in the club, allowing some of the Glazers to divest their shares. The exact value of Ratcliffe’s bid hasn’t been disclosed, but it is believed to surpass Sheikh Jassim’s offer of over $6 billion, despite the stock market valuing Manchester United at $3.3 billion.
