Officially.. Qatari offer to buy Manchester United with full acquisition

A Qatari investor has made a historic offer to acquire English club Manchester United, owned by the American Glaser family. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, chairman of one of Qatar's largest banks and son of former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, confirmed that he had made an offer to buy Manchester United.

Al-Thani said in an English-language statement obtained by dpa news agency that he had made a formal offer on Friday to buy 100 percent of Manchester United Football Club. The statement added: "The show plans to return the club to its former glories on and off the pitch and, above all, will seek to put fans at the heart of Manchester United Football Club once again."

The statement stressed that the offer "will be completely debt-free through the Sheikh Jassim Foundation, which will look to invest in football teams, training centre, stadium, wider infrastructure and fan experience and the club-supported communities." "The vision of the show is for Manchester United Football Club to be renowned for excellence in football and to be seen as the greatest football club in the world. Further details of the bid will be announced, where appropriate, if and when the bidding process has evolved."

Sheikh Jassim's offer came to settle rumors about the intention of Qatar Sports Investments, a separate entity from the Qatar Investment Authority, which owns French club Paris Saint-Germain, which made the task of completing the deal difficult due to UEFA regulations, as teams that are majority-owned by the same person or entity, cannot compete in major tournaments in the region, including the Champions League.

Some sources said the Qatari bid exceeds the €5 billion mark, and could thus break the record for the largest sale of a sports club.
Chelsea were sold in May for 8.4 billion euros to US investors, but the amount included 2 billion euros in investment promises.