Qatari billionaire sends second offer to Man Utd
Al Thani submitted the proposal, after neither he nor his biggest competitor - British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe - failed to act by the March 22 deadline. It is not clear whether Ratcliffe and other investors have submitted a second offer.
According to news hunter Fabrizio Romano, the team representing Al Thani is very confident, and asserts that the offer has been "the best price for the club, the fans and the local community".
Goal page said, besides Al Thani and Ratcliffe, Finnish billionaire, Thomas Zilliacus also participated in the race for ownership of Man Utd. In addition, US investment fund Elliott Management has submitted a bid to buy minority shares.
At the first offer, Al Thani was said to only bid $ 5.5 billion. This figure is far less than the 7.3 billion required by Man Utd owners, the Glazer family. If the new price still doesn't meet the requirements, the Glazers can move on to selling the minority shares.
Al Thani wants to buy 100% shares of Man Utd. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe only wants to buy about 69%. On March 16 and 17, representatives of the two billionaires came to Old Trafford to work with the club's leadership.
Al Thani is a member of the Qatari Royal Family, the son of the former Prime Minister of Qatar, and the Chairman of the Islamic Bank of Qatar. He personally has a total net worth of $1.2 billion according to Forbes, but he represents the Qatar Public Investment Fund (QIA), which has assets of up to $450 billion. If Al Thani buys Man Utd, the Qatari tycoon will have the second leading European team, after the Qatar Sports Investments Fund acquired PSG in 2011.
According to British media, Al Thani's second offer could amount to $6.1 billion, closer to the wishes of American billionaires. In addition, the son of the former King of Qatar is also ready to pay off Man Utd's debt. The Glazers bought Man Utd in 2005 for $1.5 billion. During the buying process, they borrowed about a billion and then transferred the debt to the club. From no debt, Man Utd has to pay the owner regularly for nearly 20 years.
Ratcliffe is the richest man in England. The chairman and CEO of INEOS group currently owns a fortune of $23 billion, ranking 65th on the list of the richest people in the world. INEOS owns another football club, Nice (France). However, Ratcliffe once affirmed that he would not pay an unreasonable price to buy Man Utd and did not mention paying the debts to this club.
Man Utd is one of the biggest clubs in the world. The "Red Devils" are with Liverpool holding the record of 20 English championships. They also have three C1/Champions League Cups.
Man Utd has been in decline since former coach Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Since then, the club has not won the English championship again. Man Utd went through five consecutive empty-handed seasons until winning the League Cup this season.
