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Sheikh Jassim is very confident in his bid to take full control at Manchester United, Fabrizio Romano reports.
The Lowdown: Second bid
Jassim made an offer to take control at Old Trafford before the soft deadline set by the Glazers last month. The current Manchester United owners have seemingly placed a £5bn valuation for the club, with previous reports believing Jassim’s opening bid was set to be rejected.
However, Jassim seems determined to complete a deal and sent a ‘formidable delegation to Old Trafford’ last week for talks. Those discussions lasted ten hours and were thought to be positive, with Sky Sports stating that a second offer from the Qatari investors was set to be made today ahead of a new deadline.
The Latest: Romano’s post
Romano took to Twitter in the last 24 hours to share what he’s heard from the Qatari investors. The transfer expert said that Jassim is ‘still very confident’ to buy the club ‘for full ownership’ but said that possible rival Sir Jim Ratcliffe will also make a new bid.
‘Sheikh Jassim feels still very confident on his bid to buy Manchester Utd for full ownership; Sir Ratcliffe’s INEOS group will also bid again after positive talks last week.’
Romano reiterated that the deadline for second bids is on Wednesday evening, adding that it will then be ‘up to the Glazers, again.’
The Verdict: Promising
This update appears to be a promising sign for those wanting Jassim to replace the Glazers, and there will more than likely be further developments throughout the day.
Erik ten Hag may also be keeping one eye on takeover updates, especially as it could impact his transfer plans for the summer. The Qatari group led by Jassim previously wanted ‘things done quickly’ so they could help Ten Hag in the transfer market, while they were also confident there would be no dual ownership issues.
This will be one to keep an eye on, and it’ll be interesting to see who may join Jassim and Ratcliffe with new bids in the coming hours.
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