Manchester United are for sale, and there is interest from Qatar, but GOAL has learned that Paris Saint-Germain’s owners will not make a takeover bid.
WHAT HAPPENED? The Glazer family, who have faced plenty of protests against their reign during an eventful tenure at Old Trafford, have opened themselves up to offers for the Premier League heavyweights. Interested parties are said to have until Friday to get formal approaches and bank guarantees on the table in order for talks to be opened.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a billionaire United supporter and owner of multinational chemicals group Ineos, has admitted to being keen on investing in the Red Devils, but there is also plenty of speculation to be found regarding supposed interest from the Middle East.
AND WHAT'S MORE: There had been talk of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) expanding their portfolio by acquiring United to sit alongside their ownership of Ligue 1 giants PSG, but GOAL understands that they will not be joining the running. Instead, any offer from that part of the world could come from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed ben Abderrahmane Al-Thani – a member of the Qatari royal family.
WHAT NEXT? It has been reported that any takeover of United will require a £6 billion ($7.3bn) deal to be put in place, with one of the biggest brands in world football set to generate an even bigger sale fee than the £4.25bn ($5.2bn) that Chelsea went for when Roman Abramovich severed ties with the west London outfit in 2022.
