Ineos And Qatar's Sheikh Jassim Confirmed As Bidders For Manchester United

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani says his foundation will bid to buy Manchester United. Ineos, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, will rival that bid.

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani confirmed on Friday night that his foundation will bid to buy Manchester United.

Ineos, owned by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is also in contention to buy the club after submitting an official offer.

The club has been owned by the Glazer family since 2005 when it was acquired for $1.34 billion.

But the Glazers announced in November that they were willing to sell part or all of their stake in United to facilitate "future growth".

A soft deadline for proposals was set and has now passed.

Sheikh Jassim is the chairman of one of Qatar's biggest banks. His consortium said on Friday: "The bid plans to return the club to its former glories.

"The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports.

"The vision of the bid is for Manchester United to be renowned for footballing excellence, and regarded as the greatest football club in the world."

Ineos has not yet released a statement but it is expected that a core point of the bidding campaign will be that Ratcliffe was born in Manchester and is a lifelong United fan.

Ratcliffe is currently worth $15.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Sheikh Jassim is a member of Qatar's ruling royal family. His father served as prime minister from 2007 to 2013.

The family is said to have a collective net worth in the region of $335b.

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are both fronting bids to buy Manchester United :: IMAGO/Pro Sports Images/Phil Duncan